Police must be de-politicised, investigations and other operational work must be separated, corruption curtailed
LAHORE: It is no news that our police system has become obsolete. It needs a major overhaul. We are still working under the Police Order of 1861, which was designed to build psychological pressure on the locals at that time. The present dynamics prevalent in the country have completely changed and can no longer be regulated by the old order. The old law in 1861 was met with just two amendments, one in 1932 when the ASI rank was included in police structure and second one in 2002, when an amended police order was presented. The police order of 2002 was not welcomed by the provinces.
Now we need police reforms that truly respond to the needs of the prevalent dynamics. The police must be de-politicised, investigations and other operational work must be separated, corruption in the department must be curtailed, the protocol culture must end, infrastructure of police stations must be improved, more trained policemen should be deputed and above all, behavioural change must be instilled in police so that it may work as an organisation of social service.
Umar Farooq Sarwar
Published in The Express Tribune, December 16th, 2014.
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