Successful police reforms require many things including a strong political backing, a veteran to lead from the front and a change in the thana culture.

According to a Centre for Peace and Development Pakistan (CPDI) report, the Police Order to reform the police was promulgated on March 20, 2002, so that the force could “function according to the constitution, law, and democratic aspirations of the people of Pakistan”.

The Police Order aimed to create a professional, service-oriented and accountable force to prevent and detect crime as well as maintain public order. That was the initial plan. Experts say that the mission has not been accomplished yet.

Special Assistant to Punjab Chief Minister on Information and Special Initiatives Hassan Khawar, who is also the Punjab government spokesperson, tells The News on Sunday (TNS) says no structural changes are planned. He says any IG who does not live up to the expectation of the CM will be transferred.

Khawar says there is nothing wrong with frequent changes of command in the police. “Why should there be so much fuss about it?” He says that 11 IGs were changed under the previous two governments. He says the IG has a very visible job and has to deliver to the public satisfaction.

Khawar acknowledges that the security of tenure is important in public service, but reiterates that “officers have to deliver and live up to the expectations of the governments they serve”.

Defending the service delivery measures taken by Chief Minster Usman Buzdar, Khawar says that in the year 2020 “Punjab Police took various initiatives that led to around 3,829,966 enhanced public engagements in the province. The data includes the activities performed by Punjab Police i.e. front desk establishment in police stations, Rasta App, Pucar 15, e-challan, khulli katcheries by officers and visitors to police khidmat marakaz”.

“Punjab Safe City Authority (PSCA) has also done crime mapping and frequently shared reports with concerned field formations. This has helped in abating crime,” he adds.

Khawar says that the Punjab government believes in taking pro-people measures. These include redesigning the Punjab Police website and introducing the new feature of registration of complaints aimed to improve public service delivery.

“Tourist Police Kartarpur and Murree have materialised the vision of prime minister to enhance tourism, for which ensuring the security of tourists is essential. Punjab Police have gone the extra mile in this regard,” he adds.

Not in favour of cosmetic changes like changing the colour of the uniform in the name of police reform, Lodhi says, “I believe there is no need for reforms. We need to enforce the current laws and rules. We need pragmatic measures, not popular ones”.

The spokesperson says that the Punjab Police have performed diverse duties during the on-going Covid-19 pandemic since March 2020. More than 60,000 police officers have performed duties in hospitals, quarantine centres, for enforcement of SOPs, lockdown (complaint specific), Ehsas Cash disbursement programme and other law and order duties. “In the course of performing their duties, 1,750 police officers were infected with Covid-19 and 17 embraced martyrdom.”

“50 police stations in the province have been made Special Initiative Police Stations where front and back sections have been segregated. Qmatic machines have been installed at each SIPS to run an automatic queuing mechanism,” he adds.

“Taking one step forward on Police Kidhmat Marrakaz, PKM (Global) has been introduced for speedy processing of national status verification of the Pakistani diaspora. They have completed 400 cases; another 235 are in progress.”

Pervez Akbar Lodhi, a former DIG, tells TNS, “Reforms have become a fashion in the ongoing public discourse. All we need to do is to enforce the existing laws and rules for better service delivery and to maintain law and order.

“Even if the governments under Nawaz Sharif and Asif Zardari changed 11 IGs, is it mandatory for the PTI to follow suit?”

He says that there is “no justification in a change of command without the security of tenure. You can’t hold someone accountable before the completion of his tenure. A newly appointed IG will always be looking for a completed year the chief executive can ask him what measures he has taken to reduce crime”.

Lodhi says “with every new IG, laws remain intact but the mindset changes”.

Lodhi gives an example to cement his argument: “Thana is not an island. The police station also reflects your society. The culture your society has will ultimately be reflected in police stations”.

Lodhi says he does not favour cosmetic changes like changing the colour of uniforms in the name of police reforms. “I believe that there is no need for (such) reforms. We need to enforce the existing laws and rules. We need pragmatic measures, not popular ones”.

He adds, “Just go and check whether the district police officers (DPOs) are arranging regular parades, you won’t believe it but officers are shying away from them. Resultantly, gaps between the officers and ranks widen. Most officers do not even bother to visit the barracks”.

He says there is a need to empower the SHOs with strong accountability checks and balances under the Punjab Police Act 1861.

To improve service delivery, there is a need for a comprehensive and coherent approach and policy. Experts point out that selective reforms have not yielded the desired results in the past and warn that they will not do so in the future. Empowerment, security of tenure and accountability from top to bottom, plus political backing are the way to make the Punjab Police better.

The writer is a journalist based in Lahore.