KARACHI: Proposed police set-up likely to do more harm than good
By S. Raza Hassan
KARACHI, July 4: The proposed division of Karachi into three police zones, each headed by a separate deputy inspector general (DIG), is likely to be implemented soon. However, sources within the police department express concerns that this will not improve matters, since no measures have been suggested to discipline police stations which constitute the basic unit of policing.
The idea of dividing the city was originally envisaged under the Police Order 2002 during the period of former provincial police officer (PPO) Jehangir Mirza, who was reportedly inspired by the experience of the Punjab. Under the new proposed set-up, of Karachi’s 19 towns created for administrative purposes by the police department, six each will be absorbed by the south, east and west police zones, while Clifton town will be included in zone south. The current positions of town police officer (TPO) and SP investigations will carry over, but the posts of sub-divisional police officer (SDPO) and town investigation officer (TIO) will cease to exist. In addition, 50 supervisory police officers (SPOs) will be posted, carrying the same rank as deputy superintendents police (DSPs), but the term ‘DSP’ will no longer be valid.
Under the current administrative set-up, the city’s 19 towns are serviced by 96 police stations but most TPOs complain that they have no control over subordinate station house officers (SHOs).
“They don’t take our directives seriously since they were recommended to their posts by the home adviser,” a town police officer who requested anonymity told Dawn, adding that station investigation officers (SIOs) show the same attitude.
“What good can be expected from the proposed police set-up unless the police station, which is the nucleus of policing, is not improved,” asked another police official. He acknowledged that the experiment has been successful in the Punjab but pointed out that the conditions at police stations in Sindh are far worse than those upcountry.
Other sources suggest that the new arrangement may undermine the Police Order 2002, thus indicating that dividing the operations and investigations wings may not have been practical after all. A source in the police department said that in the past five years, complainants have had to acquaint themselves with the set-up put in place by the Police Order 2002. “With another reshuffle, he and she will once again be at a loss as to where to take complaints,” said the official.
Other than supporting the idea of dividing Karachi into three police zones, the provincial police officer Ziaul Hasan Khan has promised “better reporting rooms” in police stations. Some officers, however, question how far he will be able to assert his authority over station house officers (SHOs).
One senior police officer suggested that SHOs should be required to pass the Sindh Public Service Commission examination before taking charge of a police station. “By adopting this simple rule, policing would improve to a point where citizens would notice,” he observed.
The adviser to the Sindh chief minister on home affairs, Waseem Akhtar, is in favour of the change in Karachi’s police set-up but made it clear that it is still a proposal and that a final decision has not yet been taken. Asked about the complaint that specially recommended police officials cripple the chain of command, Mr Akhtar said that “I would not tolerate any SHO or TIO who refuses to take an order from his superior seriously, regardless of whether or not he was recommended by me.” Justifying his role in transfers and postings, Mr Akhtar added: “Since I am part of a political government, I receive complaints about different police officials and use my discretion to remove or replace them. If anyone I have recommended fails to deliver, he or she deserves to be removed.”
