THE level of violent crime that stalks Karachi makes it amongst the world’s most dangerous cities. One of the factors feeding into this is that far too many policemen in the city are busy performing guard duty for ‘important’ persons, leaving common citizens to fend for themselves. The number of policemen dedicated to ‘VIP duty’ in Karachi has gone up from 4,500 in 2010 to over 6,500 today. This leaves only 11,000 or so cops are left to police a city of millions. This excessive focus on protecting officials, lawmakers, politicians and others is also an additional drain on the police department’s budget as police guards use official vehicles and fuel while guarding individuals. In this backdrop, the fact the police hierarchy is considering reducing the number of personnel on guard duty is welcome, though we have heard such well-intentioned plans before.

Perhaps what is needed is a dedicated police unit for the protection of public figures, separate from the regular force. It should be ensured that personnel from the regular force are unable to get themselves transferred to such a unit, while its affairs should be steered by a committee consisting of police, administration and intelligence officials. This committee can decide who genuinely needs security and how much. Political interference in the affairs of such a unit must be disallowed. And since many VIPs can afford it, perhaps they should pay for the additional security. If this were done, the bulk of the police force could be deployed in the field. The number of personnel in the regular force should also be boosted. With the creation of such a system, those who actually need extra security cover will get it, while those who travel with small armies of police guards as a show of strength will have to make other arrangements.