Directives for junior cops: Only one day-off in two weeks

PESHAWAR: The junior officials of the Capital City Police have been directed once again to avail only one day-off in two weeks, The News learnt.

This is the second time in the last two months that the cops in Peshawar received these instructions, an apparent violation of basic human rights. An official said the station house officers (SHOs) in Peshawar City Division have been allowed to avail only a 24 hour break after every 13 days instead of a one in a week.

The SHOs and staff of the police station including moharrar and patrolling officers are supposed to be available round-the-clock, unlike other government employees who work for 8 or 10 hours a day.

Many of these cops in day time attend office, meetings, appear in courts in connection with cases, receive complaints, arrange for the VIP duties and in the night they patrol the streets, carry out operations and conduct raids.

“There is a thinking that the junior officers are obliged to be posted SHOs and SDPOs to mint money and that is why they would never care about weekly off or other rights. No incompetent or corrupt official should be posted SHO or DSP. Once the right man for the job is posted, they must be provided basic rights and resources,” a junior official told The News, requesting not to be named.

It has been learnt that some of the SHOs and DSPs have recently started making efforts to manage the ransfer other wings and branches due to more duty hours and lack of resources.

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government in KP on a number of occasions claimed to introduce shift system in the provincial police force to give relief to the constables as well as junior officials.

An official in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police said the shift system was considered on a number of occasions but the idea had to be dropped for lack of resources, shortage of manpower and deployment of a large number of policemen with the VIPs.

Tougher working hours have forced many competent and honest officers in the past years and months to look for clerical assignments or find a place in the investigation, traffic or other wings so that they can go home in the evening.

“Only those prefer to be posted as SHOs who either want to complete their mandatory period for promotion to the next rank or earn money by misusing the power,” said an official said.

A cop believed decent residences for an officer near their workplace and proper duty hours for every policeman down to constable would improve the performance of the force.

A senior official of the capital city police recently said the police stations would be provided with required cars and other facilities while the officers doing well will be rewarded too.

He, however, he said made it clear that no corrupt practices, negligence or misuse of power by any DSP, SHO or any other official would be tolerated.