KARACHI: Karachi police have failed to check the rising lawlessness in the megacity because it is not trained to fight urban crime. It is the need of the hour to train Karachi police on modern lines to make it an effective force, said Pasban Democratic Party (PDP) Chairman Altaf Shakoor here Sunday.
He said the police training schools in Karachi, like other police academies and training schools, work on old and outdated methods. He said use of modern data analysis, surveillance cameras and artificial intelligence tools is not taught in these schools. These schools produce a mediocre, loose and ineffective police force.
He said subcultural theories to explain urban crime are of two types—subculture of violence and subculture of poverty. Common to both types is the belief that certain groups carry sets of norms and values that make them more likely to engage in crime. He said these both subcultures are found in the urban crime of Karachi, but our police training schools do not focus on these aspects.
He said our police schools, particularly in Karachi, should be modernized with the help of China, which has one of the most efficient police forces in the world. He said the syllabus, training tools and equipment of our police training schools and colleges should be modernized, making artificial intelligence and data recording and analysis an integral part of police training.
He said sadly our police stations are hubs of corruption. Police officers from top to bottom are generally filthy corrupt and they would never want to get the police force modernized as it would close the doors of their own corruption. He said without making the police a corruption-free department we cannot think of a modern and effective urban policing force. He said police cops should be recruited through the public service commission, so that only well educated people could enter our police force. These new recruits should be trained by foreign police officers, particularly the Chinese police officers to make them a highly effective force. He said the cops and officers serving in the police should be vigorously re-trained and those found unfit for modern day policing needs should be sacked or given early retirement. He said the dead wood should be cleared from our police department as early as possible.
He said our society needs a sense of responsibility. Our citizens are allowed to block roads on every cultural and religious occasion. He said no one should be allowed to hold processions and rallies of whatever sort on our roads. He said blocking and squatting on roads should be not tolerated at any cost, so as to give a law-abiding sense to our society and only a modern and effective police force could do the same.
He suggested sending selected cops and officers to China to make them master trainers of modern urban policing methods. He said modern policing equipment and methods of the top most police forces should be replicated in our country. He said Karachi is a megacity and it could not be run by an outdated and old minded corrupt police force. He demanded from the government to make a separate department of urban policing for ensuring law and order in Karachi on urgent basis.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024