Shooting practice may help curb avoidable deaths

Faisalabad’s 8,000-strong police force lacks appropriate training, leading to losses

FAISALABAD: There is no shooting practice centre for the practical training of the Faisalabad district police force. Most of the district’s 8,000 police personnel reportedly lack appropriate training in shooting, leading to poor firing skills.

The loss of personnel’s lives and injuries during police encounters has increased. Exchange of fire by Dolphin Force during the encounters has led to problems. The only shooting practice centre in the district has been closed. Training of shooting is given to the police personnel after recruitment in the department.

After training, regular shooting practice is carried out on the basis of basic rules of the department, so that the personnel can target perfectly and protect the lives and property of the citizens in situations of emergency.

Police officials said that, in the past, the Punjab Constabulary Battalion 4, Makkuana, had a shooting practice centre in the district. This centre was eventually closed due to lack of interest of the officers concerned and now shooting practice is not held.

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As a result, police personnel often encounter incidents where they are injured or killed during encounters with criminals due to lack of skills. However, the Dolphin Force deployed in the region maintains better skills of shooting compared to other police wings in Faisalabad in the past three years.

On the contrary, the district police personnel seemed to have failed in skillful shooting. If district and regional police officials focus on setting up a shooting practice centre in Faisalabad, not only can precious lives of personnel be saved, but expert shooters can effectively eliminate criminals.

In this regard, Regional Police Officer Riffat Mukhtar Raja told The Express Tribune that Tariq Mujahid District Police Lines is launching a shooting centre for which a location is being selected. Centres for small arms shooting, for a range of 10 to 20 metres, are being established. Separately, centres for large arms shooting practice, for a range of 200 to 300 metres, are also being established.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 11^th, 2020.