Cops-citizen linkages: K-P Police to appoint persons for info sharing

Radio channel to be used for sharing real-time situation about traffic

PESHAWAR: To streamline information sharing between the police and the information departments of the province, the government has decided to devise a mechanism for real-time interaction between police officers and citizens to inform them about the law and order situation in the province.

This was decided during a high-profile meeting at the offices of the Peshawar City Police Officer and was co-chaired by Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Information Minister Shaukat Yousafzai and K-P Inspector General of Police Salahuddin Mehsud. The meeting was attended by the information secretary, information director general and other senior officers responsible for developing a communications strategy and strengthening communication linkages between the police and information department.

The information secretary briefed the IGP on the current public perception of the police department as portrayed in various media platforms including print, electronic and social media.

The IGP was also told about the information department’s role in communicating with the public. The information secretary said that they have launched five radio channels which can be used by the police for promptly disseminating information regarding their activities. Moreover, the channels can be used to replay special programmes which are focused on bringing about behavioural changes amongst the public.

While principally agreeing on developing formal linkages between the information and the police departments, the IG suggested that a focal person should be appointed in the police department at the central and at the regional level to effectively coordinate with the information department and streamline linkages between the two departments.

K-P Information Minister Yousafzai agreed to hold periodical news briefings on the activities and achievements of the police department apart from holding incident-specific news talks as and when required.

The minister also stressed on developing confidence-building measures through follow up communications and updates regarding high priority cases so that the public can be informed regarding these cases.

“This is of paramount importance because the public does not usually have information about the results of actions taken against criminals and outlaws which develops an atmosphere of uncertainty and hopelessness,” he stated.

Yousafzai disclosed said that there is a perception amongst the public that the K-P police was better when compared to their counterparts in other provinces despite the fact that K-P is the province which has been most affected by terrorism.

Apart from being the centre of attention, he said that the force was also subject to a host of reforms during the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) last tenure in K-P government which has strengthened it institutionally and has produced positive results.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 8^th, 2018.