KPK police reforms to be institutionalised
Shares
PESHAWAR: (APP) Senior Provincial Minister for Local Government and Rural Development Inayatullah Khan said our vision for the KP Police which drives majority of the police reforms - is an apolitical, operationally autonomous, accountable and people friendly department.
We have a system of governance and laws but need to pursue good governance and rule of law.
He was addressing a public forum on Police Reforms at Peshawar Press Club, said a press release issued here on Tuesday.
The institutionalization of police reforms is critical and legislation in this regard would be groundbreaking if the provincial government can bring a new police act, he added.
Inayat Ullah Khan said that rule of law was critical to ensure implementation of laws, accountability and good governance. We have inherited several institutions including Police from the colonial era and still there are impacts of colonial culture on police.
But now the government is making reforms in Police department to improve its efficiency and capacity and make more accountable and people friendly. We have a system of governance and laws but we need to pursue good governance and rule of law, he added.
Inayat Ullah Khan said: "Reforming police is critical for upholding rule of law in the society. A consensus is also being developed among different stakeholders in this regard."
The foremost aims of police reforms are to depoliticize the department and remove the political influence over it, award operational and administrative autonomy, and make it democratically accountable, he added.
He said to achieve these targets the provincial government is bringing a new legislation through "Police Reforms Act". We can also consider bringing an ordinance as part of our efforts to ensure the sustainability of reforms.
Rahimullah Yousufzai described public-police relationship as Love-Hate relationship. "Police gets more criticism in rural areas than the urban areas", he said adding that the image of KP Police is better than other provinces.
While all these initiatives of community policing and technological modern tools were of significant importance, it was critical to ensure the sustainability of these reforms and ensure same amount of budget for police in the future, he added.
Director General Projects, Coordination Unit, KP Police Muhammad Ijaz said the KP Police reforms were aimed at professionalizing their services and conduct to improve the efficiency and public-relations for a peaceful and crime free society.
The lack of diverse database was one of the major issues facing the
KP Police and remained a challenge since long, he added.
Muhammad Ijaz said the issue has been addressed through several technological modern tools such as Police Access Service (PAS), Identity Verification System (IVS), Vehicle Verification System (VVS), Criminal Record Verification System (CRVS), Hotspot Policing (Geo Tagging), Online FIR and SOS Call Service.
He said one of the prime consideration of police reforms was to reduce the fear of police among the public. Thus they aimed to reduce the gaps, establish public-police linkages and restore public trust in police.
