SHOs to get financial control of police stations

The decision was taken in view of complaints of non-disbursement of funds

KARACHI: The Sindh government's finance department has put up a summary to empower the Station House Officers (SHOs) of all police stations to act as drawing and disbursing officers (DDO). The move will mean that funds allocated for police stations will trickle down directly and the SHOs working in grade 16 will be able to withdraw the amount for repairs, maintenance, stationery items and fuel for patrolling vehicles.

"We are decentralising the financial powers of the police from SSP-level officers to the relevant police stations, which are basic units.  After this decision, the SHOs will no longer have to run after higher authorities in the police for these funds," said a senior official of the finance department, adding that after the summary is approved, they will issue a notification and funds will be directly released to the police stations.

Sources in the finance department said that the decision was made following frequent complaints by SHOs that their senior officers, especially SSPs, don't release funds to them. "Now, we are putting all efforts to allocate police station-specific budgets to get rid to financial constraints faced by the police," said an official. Though the decision has been made, it is not clear how the process will be made transparent and how the SHO will be made accountable if he gets the funds released for the entire financial year and is transferred before the year ends.

Sindh IG Ghulam Hyder Jamali said the funds will be given to the police stations on quarterly basis and they will fix the tenure of SHOs.  "We have in principle decided to stop frequent transfers and postings of police officers," he said.

Ghulam Qadir Thebo, a former Karachi police chief, who had been part of this process, said that hardly any police station gets these funds. "During my tenure, I had suggested that these financial powers be given to those SHOs who are inspectors in grade 16, otherwise the funds must be released to the relevant SHOs through their DSPs," he said, adding that the tenure of SHOs must be fixed, otherwise it will not yield any results.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 30^th, 2015.