Better performance or more of the same

Recently, a private citizens’ group concerned about the law and order situation in Karachi carried out a useful survey among members on whether police performance had improved or not. The results were contentious but hardly astonishing: the majority of members claimed a semblance of improvement as such while there are many who thought differently, basing their opinion somewhat heavily on what happened in the tragic case of Amal, a young girl killed by the police in crossfire when law enforcers tried to shoot a mugger who was robbing her family in a car. A downward graph in police crime statistics does not necessarily reflect better performance nor would that be a fair and accurate assessment.

Reforms must be urgently introduced and proper training imparted to policemen. The government in turn should allocate additional funds for the law-enforcement personnel to improve their salary structure, allowances and benefits. Corruption in the force should be dealt with an iron hand. It is not only the enforcement of the law that needs to be looked into but the entire criminal justice system must be overhauled.

The courts are clogged with a severe backlog of cases which need to be dispensed with as soon as possible. Last but not the least there should be absolutely no political interference in the police and criminal justice system in the country. Only once such measures are adopted, then can performance be properly or even fully gauged.

If performance has indeed improved, nothing should stop the authorities from setting higher goals and achieving them too. The ultimate one would be serving the policing needs of communities and groups, being responsive and keeping everybody safe and protected from crime. The day that happens we can afford to let down our guard.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 29^th, 2018.

Like Opinion & Editorial on Facebook, follow @ETOpEd on Twitter to receive all updates on all our daily pieces.