Don’t belittle police, inspector general asks judges

Chowk Azam police station inaugurated.

LAHORE:

Judges should not belittle policemen who turn up in their courts because it hurts the morale of the force and weakens the government’s writ, said Inspector General (IG) Habibur Rehman on Thursday.

“It is also feared that this day-to-day mockery of the police force will affect the endeavours and efforts of government institutions and the honourable courts to reform policing. However, police officers are directed to always follow the orders of the honourable courts in letter and in spirit,” said the IG in an address to the Police Darbar at Police Lines in Layyah district.

Earlier, the Punjab Police chief met with Layyah District Police Officer Shaukat Abbas, DSPs, SHOs and other local officers to review the law and order situation in the district.

IG Rehman said that the police were the backbone of society and helped in the pursuit of justice. He said that police officials put their lives at risk and many died in the line of duty. He said all state institutions and social organisations should cooperate with the police so that the department could do its job of protecting citizens. He said that strengthening the criminal justice system would require having more effective prosecutions and credible guarantees that witnesses would be protected.

The IG said that a state-of-the-art Punjab School of Investigation was being set up to teach investigators modern methods of inquiry and evidence gathering. He said that investigation officers serving in police stations all over the Punjab would pick up new skills at the school. He said that modern forensic laboratories would be established in each district.

Also on Thursday, the IG inaugurated the Chowk Azam police station on Mianwali Road. The police station cost an estimated Rs13 million and include separate lockups for men and women, a reporting room, an SHO’s office, and offices and residential rooms for policemen.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 18^th, 2012.