ISLAMABAD: Mobility has become a big problem for the capital police at a time when population and crime are on the rise in the city, according to police sources.

Police are routinely accused of responding leisurely to urgent situations but can they really do any better?

“Imagine a force trying to control situations in a city of 1.8 million with just 800 vehicles - of all kinds, at its disposal,” said one police officer.

In 2012, the 18 police stations in Islamabad each used to have two or three pickups, according to the population of their precinct. Now the number has declined to one or two.

Cultus cars given to SHOs of the 18 police stations in 2010 were withdrawn in 2012 for higher rank officers.

They were promised replacements the next year, but it remains a promise to this day.

Police vehicles were purchased on three occasions only – in 2004 for the security of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation summit in Islamabad, the Cultus lot in 2010 and a fleet of 30 pickups purchased last year for joint patrols by police and Rangers because of heightened terrorism threats.

Otherwise, new vehicles were purchased to replace old ones – that too for the use of senior police officers. Local ranks had to make do with the decaying lot.

Last month, the capital police purchased 10 Toyota Corolla cars and a new request for 25 more cars has been sent to the Ministry of Interior which controls the capital police.

Completely broken down vehicles in the general transport pool of the police are auctioned, police sources said. New vehicles are bought with the auction proceeds and deficit amount from the police budget.

A low-ranking officer said majority of the vehicles in the use of police stations, headquarters, security wing, crime investigation agency and department and Rescue-15 had been declared ‘unfit.

While office-bound senior officers drive new model Honda and Toyota cars, officers engaged in operational, patrolling, investigation, and security duties have the ‘unfit vehicles’. “Some of them are push-start. They have to be pushed every time to roll,” he said.

There are 834 vehicles in all in the police transport pool. These include 11 Land Cruisers, a Jeep, 156 cars, 373 motorcycles, 187 pickups, seven ambulances, nine small Suzuki pickups, 10 coasters and vans, two mobile canteens, eight Armoured Personnel Carriers, 42 trucks, nine buses, seven prison vans, one crane, two water tankers, eight fork-lifters and one tractor.

Of them, 73 need frequent repairs and seven are beyond repairing.

Published in Dawn, October 22nd, 2014