RAWALPINDI: The newly-founded Crime Control Department (CCD) has established its separate police station in Rawalpindi at the Dolphin Police Headquarters Kotha Kalan Morgah, prompting the relocation of over 170 Dolphin police personnel to different police stations across the city.

A senior police officer said that the Dolphin Force personnel were shifted to different police stations to allow the establishment of the CCD police station and improve security measures in Rawalpindi.

Patterned after the Istanbul Police Dolphin Force, the Punjab Dolphin Force was launched in Lahore in 2016 by the then Punjab chief minister Shehbaz Sharif as a special force dedicated to combating street crime.

Every Dolphin Police motorcycle, operated by two police officers, was equipped with firearms, a radio, handcuffs, a GPS tracking device, a camera and a special black uniform with contrasting red and white stripes.

A team of 25 police officers, led by an SP, traveled to Turkey in March 2015 for a two-month training programme. Upon their return, they trained about 1,200 constables and other members of the force who had been selected for the Dolphin Force.

The Dolphin Squad, a specialised police unit in Rawalpindi, is part of the Rawalpindi police. It was launched as a response-focused unit in Rawalpindi. The unit comprises 174 trained officers and operates within the broader structure of the Rawalpindi police.

Of the 174 personnel, there are 144 constables, 23 head constables, six assistant sub-inspectors (ASIs) and one sub-inspector who perform their duties in different sectors in the garrison city.

“After the government noticed that there was no letup in crimes, it was decided to establish a specialised unit of police — the CCD — to only deal with serious and organised crimes,” Punjab CCD Assistant Inspector General (AIG) Sohail Zafar Chattha toldDawn.

AIG Chattha has been appointed as the first AIG of CCD Punjab, while three DIGs will assist him.

Senior superintendents of police (SSPs) will be divisional heads, while superintendents of police (SPs) and deputy superintendents of police (DSPs) will lead as district heads.

AIG Chattha said the CCD will be equipped with state-of-the-art equipment, like four locators which the police department was lacking, top-of-the-line weapons, bulletproof vehicles and special drones.

Additionally, each CCD official will receive 50 days of training annually from specialised trainers who have received training from foreign experts.

Initially, 4,000 police personnel have been transferred from 40 districts of Punjab to the newly established CCD and later 4,000 personnel will be recruited in the second phase.

“There will be a separate police station for CCD in every district. However, the local police will be the first to register cases of serious nature like murder, rape, injury during a robbery, missing children, unclaimed dead bodies, car snatching and contract killing,” the AIG said.

After registration, cases will be transferred to the CCD for investigation.

In response to a question regarding the improvement of police stations, which is the basic unit of policing, the Mr Chattha said that a lot of funds had been provided to the police during the last two years to improve the police stations’ infrastructure and facilities, as the crime victim’s first interaction with police takes place at the police station.

When asked about the transfer of human resources from the district police, who have already been facing a manpower shortage, the AIG justified it by saying that it does not matter much to take 4,000 police personnel from 40 districts of Punjab for the CCD.

Another senior police officer was of the view that there is no harm in establishing new police units like CCD, as almost every government in the last two decades has done the same by establishing new police units and spending funds on infrastructure.

But, he said, none of them tried to improve police stations.

Published in Dawn, May 6th, 2025