Positive image: ‘Police sacrifices have earned public respect’

Ulasi Police initiative has helped raise awareness about departmental reforms

PESHAWAR: The unprecedented sacrifices made by the K-P police in war against militancy, by going above and beyond the call of duties, have made them look ever more respectable before the public. This was stated by Peshawar SP Sahibzada Sajjad Ahmad during a meeting on K-P police reforms in the city on Friday.

The moot was a part of the project — Ulasi Police — which is an awareness and advocacy campaign undertaken by a non-profit organisation. Its aim is to strengthen rule of law in the province by promoting and disseminating significant police reforms. Speaking at the workshop, Ahmad said, “The media also needs to be more active in spreading these inspiring examples so image of the police can be improved.” He added the K-P police had improved drastically compared to the last decade and this had been made possible through reforms.

Initiatives such as Ulasi Police have helped raise awareness among the public about how the police department was reforming itself. “The organisation is becoming oriented towards public welfare and addressing the trust deficit,” Ahmad said.

The project aims towards increasing understanding of local communities’ policing needs and international human rights standards. It endeavours to tackle the trust deficit between the public and the police and enhance accountability on the part of the latter.

Implementation

The participating police officials said the K-P police had started community policing. Information technology tools, including Identity Verification System (IVS), Vehicle Verification System (VVS) and Criminal Record Verification System (CRVS), were also a part of the K-P police reforms.

These have been beneficial both for the police as well as the public. Model police stations have been increased from 7 to 21 in K-P and each one has a dedicated facilitation desk for women. The women police officials have shown remarkable performance and participated in various joint operations.

Community members participating at the workshop said there was a dire need to focus on capacity-building and training, particularly of those personnel who frequently interact with the public.

The members also said the authorities needed to pay attention to the performance of the police in rural areas.

Appreciating the sacrifices of the police, participants said the policemen who were martyred saved the lives of thousands of people.

Gulbahar DSP Rokhan Zeb, Peshawar Deputy Superintendent Police Training Aneela Naz, Deputy Superintendent Police Investigation Rozia Iltaf and other police officials were also present on the occasion.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 3^rd, 2016.