MARDAN: Speakers at a public forum on Friday stressed the need for launching an effective awareness campaign among general public about the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police reforms so they could take maximum benefit of the measure.

The public forum on police reforms was held at the Mardan Press Club addressed among others by district nazim Himayatullah Mayar, district police officer Dr Mian Saeed and Prof Saeed Ahmed from the degree college, Mardan.

People from different strata of society, including lawyers, local government representatives, media personnel, academia and youth attended the forum, which is part of the ‘Ulasi Police’ project undertaken by the Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) to strengthen the rule of law in KP province.

The endeavour aims to reduce the trust deficit between the public and police and help the latter become an accountable and community-focused force.

DPO Dr Saeed said common objective of all the initiatives being taken under the KP police reforms was to improve public service delivery of the force. He said respectful engagement with public was crucial to ensure a crime-free society.

“The police in KP today are ever more accountable where postings, transfers and promotions have been linked with performance. Hundreds of police officials punished on corruption charges exemplify the accountability mechanisms in place within the KP police,” he claimed.

He went on to say that a good police officer was the one who had good relations with public. He said that police officials should critically evaluate their performance against the taxpayers money spent on payment of their emoluments.

District nazim Himayatullah Mayar stressed that the local government representatives had a key role to play in ensuring a crime-free and just society while collaborating with the police. “Behaving respectfully with public is not only the moral responsibility of police officials but a legal binding on them by law,” he said.

“It is hoped that the police reforms would empower the public to better express their concerns and speak up for their rights. The public-police partnership is also crucial in terms of crime control in the society. The public should also realise their roles and responsibilities, and share the critical information with police,” he maintained.

Prof Saeed said KP police were actively reforming themselves to improve their public service. For better linkages and improved relations between the police and public, it is important for both of them to understand each other and their issues, he added.

Published in Dawn, December 24th, 2016