Police officials are often stereotyped as corrupt and incompetent. The crime diaries sent to the media by the police of the twin cities may provide an insight into one aspect of their jobs.
The single-page summary of all crimes of the day sent by the Islamabad Police reflects the way officials kept records before the proliferation of computers. Handwritten in almost illegible Urdu, the diary often contains incomplete crime reports. Copies of the document are also sent to senior police officials in the twin cities.
Zia Bajwa, Public Relations Officer (PRO) to the capital’s police chief, said senior officials do not have the time to read the report, so they are briefed on major crimes by their assistants.
He added that the people writing the diaries currently are eighth-grade pass computer-illiterate officials, who were hired in 1984. The issue, he said, can be resolved by hiring computer-literate operators. The issue, one would imagine, can also be resolved if the existing staffers are given computer training.
Compiling the crime briefs on a computer would be easier for us as well, Bajwa said. “It’s tough for the reader to transcribe crime briefs from more than 17 police stations in the capital over the phone.”
Some Inspector Generals of Police tried to update the process but their ideas were not implemented, he added.
Pindi police are the same
The Rawalpindi police are more of the same. Their daily crime reports and press releases contain information on the little hashish or liquor they seize. Serious crimes like murder, abductions and robberies, reported in the media, are never mentioned. This is despite the fact that the diary is a compilation of crime reports from 27 police stations in the Rawalpindi division.
Wajid Hussain, head clerk with the Rawalpindi police, insisted that the diary mentions every case registered with them. However, a glance at the diary reveals that most serious crimes --- murders and robberies reported in The Express Tribune and other newspapers — are missing.
Another recurring feature in crime diaries compiled by the Rawalpindi police is recycling. They just change the date on top and send the same page to the media again. This happens especially after gazetted holidays.
Rawalpindi police PRO, when contacted, said it was a technical fault by the operator.
Missing information
The crime diaries sent by the police are not properly composed, resulting in incomplete information, which is another source of confusion. Several reminders later, the fault remains.
Sometimes persons with the same name are booked for multiple offences, listed as separate entries in the diary.
A case in point: On the same day, several men arrested with hashish and weapons and found drunk were all named Hameed. This raises questions about the veracity of the report and, perhaps, the lack of creativity on police’s part in padding the diary with names to fulfil their quota.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 19th, 2012.
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