Your friendly neighbourhood policeman

Police officers to be given streets to look after.

ISLAMABAD:

Islamabad police is reviving the old beats system in which individual police officers are made responsible for a certain area. Even though the provision for the system has been provided in Police Rules 1934, it was never properly implemented in the city.

The city police has devised an exclusive security plan under which the areas falling under every police station will be divided into various beats, with the respective beat in-charges responsible for their assigned areas.

A pilot security project will be initially implemented in the jurisdiction of Shalimar police station and would be extended to other police stations if successful.  The formal announcement about this new pilot project was made by Inspector General of Police (IGP) Islamabad Wajid Ali Khan Durrani during his visit to Shalimar police station on Thursday.

According to the system, a constable or head constable will be assigned three streets as his beat. He will collect and maintain records of people living in his assigned areas.

Besides keeping an eye on activities in his area, the official will also be responsible for complaints in his neighbourhood.

Assistant Sub-Inspectors will watch over these beat in-charges and will be responsible for the overall law and order in their assigned subsectors.

For the pilot phase, six beat in-charges in the north and south of Shalimar police station will be supervised by two Additional Station House Officers, who will be answerable to their high-ups in case of any untoward incident.

In the second phase of the project, police checkpoints will be established in the sub-sectors of every main sector, said police officials.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 01^st, 2011.