Police Reforms Committee Set Up In Karachi

Law and Justice Commission, Pakistan set up a Police Reforms Committee in 2018 to recommend the way forward on police reforms

KARACHI (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News / NNI - 22nd March, 2019) Law and Justice Commission, Pakistan set up a Police Reforms Committee in 2018 to recommend the way forward on police reforms.The PRC submitted a report which was launched in Jan 2019.The most important point suggested by the PRC was to give the highest priority to the redressal of public complaints against the police.

It was decided that we should have a system whereby public complaints against the police should be dealt with in every district by specially selected officers of integrity, of the rank of SP/DSP, who would have no other responsibility except dealing with public complaints.This was suggested to ensure speedy and fair disposal of public complaints against the police.

The sole benchmark of evaluating the success of this venture was the reduction in the number of people who after approaching the police with complaints had to run to courts to get relief. We have no doubt that if the idea is implemented in letter and spirit, the excessive workload on the courts, over and above the adjudication of criminal cases, would be drastically reduced, enabling the courts to reduce the tremendous backlog of criminal cases.The decision of the Judicial Policy Making Committee about the Justices of Peace, asking the complainants if they had approached the police authorities with their complaints is nothing but a continuation of the existing practice of the JPs asking the complainants for an affidavit about them approaching the police and not getting any relief.

We have only tried to ensure that the complainant, once he approaches the district complaints officer ,is provided immediate relief, due to him, as per law and up to a maximum of 7 days.We assure the honourable members of the bar, that our basic goal is to strive for alleviating the sufferings of the common man vis a vis complaints against the police.

The honourable bar members and the police officers are partners in this noble endeavor and shall continue to be so.IGP also assure the public,that they believe that the best way forward in police reforms is to have a system whereby the complainant does not have to run from pillar to post with his grievances against the police but is given the priority the complaint deserves.

The goal is to strive for coming down on police deviance with an iron hand and to ensure that the rights of every individual is protected by the police, as mandated in the law. NNI