AMERICAN lawyer and social activist Bryan Stevenson says the opposite of poverty is not wealth; the opposite of poverty is justice. I wonder why we are too much left behind and rank 129th out of 140 on the World Justice Project (WJP) Rule of Law Index.

It is no wonder that Pakistan is lagging in all the fields because we see a top achiever of Legum Baccalaureus (LLB) programme serving as an inspector; a young, brilliant medical graduate working in bureaucracy, and a talented engineer offering his services abroad. Instead of blaming them, I would call it mismanagement of the system due to which we see this brain drain.

A police inspector is bound to investigate a crime scene and deal with criminals to mould their demeanour by considering crime a multidimensional phenomenon having social, religious, political, economic, ecological, psychological, biological, philosophical and other connotations. Who better could do this job other than a graduate of Criminology? One who merely studies various laws, or one who considers crime merely as an evil and the legal section relevant to that offence, or a person who studies how to proceed with civil or criminal cases in the courts?

Recently, the Sindh Public Service Commission (SPSC) announced several vacant positions, including those of inspectors and sub-inspectors for which the qualification required was a graduate degree in Law. We are producing hundreds of Criminology graduates every year for the last few years, but they are not considered eligible for a police job. It is not only an injustice to Criminology graduates, but also a mistreatment of the justice system.

The rising crime rate and recidivism in the country show a failed recruitment system for law-enforcement agencies. The countries where degrees in Criminology and Criminal Justice are prioritised over the LLB degree for law-enforcement elements, have witnessed a massive decline in recidivism, and have thus improved their position in Rule of Law Index.

The government should consider the matter seriously. It is not too late to make amendments to the recruitment system by deploying specialists in their fields of expertise.

Sabir Hussain Zounr
Jamshoro

Published in Dawn, May 6th, 2023