15 January 2005	Saturday	04 Zilhaj 1425

KARACHI, Jan 14: Financial and manpower constraints are badly hampering the performance of the police in effectively dealing with street crimes.

Over 8,000 out of the total 26,000 police personnel are engaged in security tasks at foreign missions, important installations, and VIPs including diplomats and government personalities in Karachi.

About 10 per cent of police force often remains on leave while the rest performing duties at police stations - 100 in number in Karachi - leaving a very small number of policemen for patrolling the roads and streets of a city with a population of 15 million.

These views were expressed by the Additional Inspector General (AIG) Sindh Police, Nayyar Hasnain, during a seminar on "Dealing with Street Crimes on War Footing", organized by the Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF) at its Vicky Zeitlin Media Library, Press Centre Karachi last evening.

Despite paucity of funds, manpower and communication facilities including patrolling vehicles and wireless sets, Karachi police is fulfilling its responsibilities to a great extent. However, it is the responsibility of society as a whole to play its role in eliminating crimes, he maintained.

"The press and media, lawyers, judiciary and society as a whole should play their due role in the elimination of street and other crimes," he said, adding that; however, people have the right to criticize and object on the police's ways of tackling the problem of street crimes.

As far as snatching of two-wheelers and four-wheelers is concerned, the AIG said that the Karachi police had established the Anti-Car Lifting Cell (ACLC), which had played an important role in curbing these kinds of crimes.

Regarding the increasing incidents of cell-phone snatchings, he said the police with the assistance of the electronic dealers' association had prepared a cell-phone registration and tracking system.

Admitting that the police faced some internal departmental problems, he said that lack of financial resources, absence of patrolling vehicles, investigation tool kits, and forensic labs besides manpower shortage was badly hampering the performance of Karachi police in effectively dealing with street crimes.

"Only five per cent of police employees are given housing facilities, while all personnel get meagre salaries. Above that, they face criticism from the community and society on their performance," he complained, adding that steps were being taken to improve the police's attitude and its abilities.

He urged the media to honestly play their role with a sense of dedication and responsibility. The Chief of the CPLC, Sharfuddin Memon, in his address said that despite all its shortcomings, the police was effectively dealing with serious crimes including terrorism and kidnapping for ransom incidents.

"It is evident that the night-life in Karachi has been restored due to hectic efforts by the Karachi police," he said, adding that soon after a rise in incidents of street crimes, the police took steps for their prevention.

He said there were incidents when relatives, even sons of senior officials were involved. "But, even they were not spared and were brought to justice." Mr Memon conceded that the attitude of the police with the citizens was a major concern for common people, which was needed to be addressed at the earliest.

The Secretary of the KPC, Najeeb Ahmed, presented a horrible account of street crimes in the city, saying "people are often killed or seriously injured by thugs involved in such incidents, who don't hesitate in opening fire on those who resist them," he deplored.

He said that police knew where cell-phones were resold, and about those involved in bank robberies and motorbike snatchings, adding they could be easily arrested and brought to justice. "But, they (police) were not performing its duty."

The Bureau Chief of PPI, Nasir Aijaz, said that Karachi was a peaceful city a couple of decades back when people used to roam its streets even after midnight. But, since the last one and half decades, it had become an unsafe city for its citizens, he deplored.

Several other persons attending the seminar drew the attention of the police officials and journalists towards the involvement of police officers and personnel in dacoities and robberies, and demanded action against black sheep in the force.

They also deplored that there was a lack of coordination existed between police and other law enforcing agencies including the Rangers, referring to several incidents when people were deprived of their valuables and even shot dead by criminals in front of Rangers personnel, but they latter took no action. - PPI