Foolishly flashing forces

This is the message the Karachi police appears to be giving the people of the city:

"If you are a mobile phone/purse snatcher, target killer, car jacker or have just been waiting for the right time to rob an ATM beware! You will be able to see me coming. By the time I close in, you are welcome to run away, hide in a crowd or just wait for me to drive by. Once I am out of sight you can commit a crime. We do not surprise offenders"

The police has recently been equipped with brand new 1000 and 1300 cc cars with the latest digital sirens, installed with bright, high quality flashers for the first time. Occupied with four police officers each, the vehicles look elegant and could make you feel proud of your force. You may not even mind  being pulled over for a violation, where you would remain in your car and the officer after stopping would walk up say "Licence and registration, please."

Traditionally the vehicle for the  Karachi police, the Eagle Squad or Muhafiz force, was the Hilux with its dim  revolving single bulb bluelight and 6 to 8 officers at one time. The City Police Department were given Corolla and Altos to meet international standards.

But what use are these cars when officers do not know the standard operating procedure of a police car? As dawn sets, police vehicles present at intersections, shopping malls or simply patrolling the streets turn on their flashing lights remain on until the vehicle and its officers have completed their duty. They will patrol your streets with sirens and lights on, breaching the peace of residents without remorse.

Developing a system does not cost much, but foolishly flashing away does cost the whole force its recognition and reputation. Those managing the force should be trained to inculcate a sense of responsibility in the staff. This force can be reformed by applying systems properly.

Police procedures need to improve but we need to change too. Hardly, anybody follows traffic rules. To mention a few we do not use indicators before changing lanes, we drive with full beams blinding the other drivers, instead of waiting at a red light we slow down and go when the signal changes - because we know there are others like us out there. We honk at everything in sight and pfft! who cares about seatbelts.

We need to become an honest society - even if our parents originally hid our real age for kindergarten registration (so now our national ID card and passport may be off by a year or five). Can we?