We the people: Police, community to tackle crime rate in city

Joint forum designed to strengthen coordination between public and police.

PESHAWAR: Community Policing Forum (CPF) was launched in University Town on Friday.

The initiative has been designed to strengthen communication and coordination between the public at large and police to reduce the crime rate in Peshawar.

CPF was launched at a meeting held in collaboration with Aitebaar – a project of DIFD, the Department for International Development.

Around 80 representatives from University Town—including people from minority groups—attended the ceremony.

The forum will consist of local representatives with a clean record. All CPF members are expected to remain impartial, maintain a clean record and not pursue the agenda of any political party.

At the meeting, CCPO Ijaz Ahmed emphasised the need for police and community members to work together to ensure security in Peshawar. He asked CPF members to actively coordinate with law enforcement to address people’s grievances.

Qazi Arif, who has been appointed the community policing officer, said the forum will meet on a monthly basis. During these gatherings, the CPF will identify means to curb crime in the city. Moreover, they will be expected to share the details of these meetings with the SHO.

Speaking to The Express Tribune, Secretary Home and Tribal Affairs Syed Akhtar Ali Shah lauded the initiative as a means of engaging residents with security dynamics in the city.

“When the police and people feel a sense of responsibility towards each other, crime can be prevented or, at best, investigated in a systematic manner”, he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 20^th, 2014.