Safety in numbers?

KARACHI, in the recent past, has become a lethal brew of terrorism, religious extremism, political crime, the drug trade and bureaucratic corruption that detonates into absolute anarchy at the slightest provocation. Violence, fear and uncertainty will forever taint its name as bitter memories and foreboding reminders. But its systematic descent into chaos can easily be blamed on the state of deprivation and the resultant apathy on the part of its law-enforcement agencies.

The most recent blow to the integrity of its police force comes in the form of figures that declare that the metropolis has more security guards — to the tune of 50,000 to 52,000 belonging to approximately 180 security agencies — than police personnel (just 29,000 posted at some 100 police stations across the city). The realisation that a metropolis of such immensity is becoming increasingly reliant on untrained, gun-toting men in random uniforms rather than an indigenous, professional police force is hardly the stuff of urban legend.

People continue to invest in private security agencies regardless of many reported incidents of armed break-ins, theft and various complaints of misdemeanours by security guards at residences, which have resulted in the suspension of close to nine security companies. The most risky aspect of entering into an agreement with private security providers is that they often include a condition stating that they are not responsible for any transgressions on the part of their employee.

What, then, is the ‘security’ that they claim to guarantee as their employee is free to abet or conduct a crime? Perhaps this is the catch that has become a catalyst for the recent spate of bank and residential heists and has forced Karachi’s CCPO to warn all security companies that they are “being watched.”

“My driver got into a heated argument with the guard who became enraged and put a gun to the driver’s head. Luckily, my husband arrived in time or it could have become serious. We called the company and they said that the most they would do is replace him,” said Beena, a resident of Defence who refrained from naming the agency for fear that some errant employee might turn up at her gate.

Karachi’s parallel security network is a direct consequence of the collective distrust that began to take root in the early nineties and became progressively acute with each macabre episode. But police apathy has its reasons; this vital force remains deprived of incentives in the way of pay raises, adequate living quarters, training, and promotions that are judged on merit by established panels. Instead, it is plagued with political appointments that keep it from being politically neutral. Also, it is almost devoid of native recruits, which translates into a disregard for the city as it is not the hometown of a majority of the police corps.

Hence, the city is hostage to a force that is unresponsive and complacent towards its security. This absence of kinship with Karachi has also promoted police crimes such as gang rapes, robberies and assaults in custody. And now as Muharram is here, Karachi may be poised for disaster if its law-enforcing apparatus fails to come into play with foresight and a sense of urgency.

However, many senior police officials had hailed the police reforms as a major indication of change in the state machinery. But where the Police Order 2002 is of much intrinsic worth, the snag is in the aspect that it grants immense powers to police officials without suitable implementation of accountability mechanisms.

The Police Order was intended to replace the Police Act of 1861 and was planned on the lines of the system introduced in post-World War II Japan that succeeded in transforming policing attitudes in the country. As for Karachi, police stations may be a citizen’s first connection with justice; they are also places where individual dignity is flouted most.

Despite new policing systems in place, it is still a long, arduous road to establishing a new, honourable police culture that can recapture public trust.

reema.abbasi@dawn.com