Sorting out the police
For the police to be effective in Karachi, hiring needs to not only be increased but done on merit alone.
A ratio of one policeman for every 574 residents is abysmally low. PHOTO: REUTERS/FILE
A report by the standing committee of the Sindh Assembly, tasked to look into Karachi’s law and order situation, found that it has a ratio of one policeman for every 574 residents. For a city that is constantly plagued by violence, this is an abysmally low ratio and needs to be improved as soon as possible. On top of that, not only are there too few policemen patrolling the streets, far too many of them are assigned on VIP duty to ensure the safety of various politicians. When the president, for example, is in town, a large share of police resources is devoted to protecting him. This is in addition to the police security that is guarding his personal residence, at all times.
Certainly, a lack of police resources is a major problem in Karachi but equally vexing is the quality of police work in the city. Too many — indeed most — policemen are hired and fired on the basis of their political connection, not their competence. The greatest measure of a policeman’s work is his ability to look the other way when his political patrons are going on a killing spree. Since all the political parties in the city have elements in their ranks that are not exactly peace-loving, the police end up contributing to the lawlessness. In everyday work too, the police seem to be more interested in collecting their cut rather than properly doing their job.
For the police to be effective in Karachi, hiring needs to not only be increased but done on merit alone. A police force that is in the pockets of politicians will never be able to get its job done. The police also need to treat every citizen’s life as equally valuable and not put politicians and their safety above everyone else. It needs to be identified which areas have the highest crime and hire more officers to patrol those areas. A larger police force is all well and good but first, we need a better, more honest police force. Karachi’s police should be accountable only to the citizens they are meant to serve and not their political masters.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 2nd, 2013.
Certainly, a lack of police resources is a major problem in Karachi but equally vexing is the quality of police work in the city. Too many — indeed most — policemen are hired and fired on the basis of their political connection, not their competence. The greatest measure of a policeman’s work is his ability to look the other way when his political patrons are going on a killing spree. Since all the political parties in the city have elements in their ranks that are not exactly peace-loving, the police end up contributing to the lawlessness. In everyday work too, the police seem to be more interested in collecting their cut rather than properly doing their job.
For the police to be effective in Karachi, hiring needs to not only be increased but done on merit alone. A police force that is in the pockets of politicians will never be able to get its job done. The police also need to treat every citizen’s life as equally valuable and not put politicians and their safety above everyone else. It needs to be identified which areas have the highest crime and hire more officers to patrol those areas. A larger police force is all well and good but first, we need a better, more honest police force. Karachi’s police should be accountable only to the citizens they are meant to serve and not their political masters.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 2nd, 2013.