The communities in KP have a crucial role to play in partnership with the police to ensure a society free from crime and injustice. The police in KP have taken several significant reforms over the last few years but the public is unaware of them. There is a dire need of conveying these community focused initiatives – aimed at benefitting the commoners – to the general public. The public needs to be cognizant of the challenges and limitations faced by the police and provide support to them where possible.
These were the remarks made by the members of working group on police reforms during their maiden consultative meeting in Peshawar. The meeting was a part of the project “Ulasi Police”, an awareness and advocacy campaign undertaken by the Center for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) – as part of USAID Small Grants and Ambassadors’ Fund Program – to strengthen the rule of law in KP province by promoting and disseminating the significant police reforms aimed at incorporating local communities’ policing needs and international human rights standards. The endeavor aims to tackle the trust deficit between the public and police, help KP police become an accountable and community-focused police force.
The working group members of police included:
Mr. Imran Khan, Sub-Inspector/ Incharge PAL, Peshawar, Mr. Ihsan Shah, SHO, Hashtangri Police station, Mr. Ijaz Khan, SHO, Mathra Police Station, Ms. Rizwana Tufail, SHO Model Police Station, Sharqi, Mr. Asfand-e-Yaar Khan, Assistant Director Information Technology, Police Line, Peshawar.
The members of working group from the police said that peace was a fundamentally essential prerequisite for community policing and bringing reforms based on community’s policing needs. Police is receiving a good feedback from public about these reforms but there is dire need of a massive propagation of these significant changes, given that the public at large in unaware which is hindering the trust building. Police Access Service (PAS) has been quite efficacious so far in providing speedy justice to the citizens. The service offers different ways of filing a complaint with the police where the incoming messages are received through several mediums of communication.
The working group members from the community included:
Ms. Asia Khattak, LG Representative, Ms. Amna Durrani, Social Rights Activist, Ms. Zuhra, Advocate Peshawar High Court, Mr. Silas Gill, Minority Member and LG Representative, Mr. Asif Qureshi, Educationist, Mr. Ghulam Rabbani, Religious Scholar, Mr. Nizam Uddin, Communication Officer at Sub-National Governance Program, Mr. Faridullah Khan, Peshawar Based Journalist.
The participating members of the community said that the trust might have reduced in the past few years due to these positive developments but there was a room for further improvement and effective implementation. The need for behavioral change and improving public relations skills of police resonated with all the members.