The police system seems to be set to make some very needed structural changes. One of the changes, according to the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Punjab Inam Ghani, is that citizens should not be called in police offices or stations without summons. Moreover, funds have been set aside to set up a software for digital monitoring of people, called in the police stations or offices, which has been planned to be launched in January 2021.
There will be a formal system for the summons; the investigating officer must register the orders to appear at a police station in Register 5/A under which electronic attendance system in all police stations. At all RPOs, DPOs, SPs, Circle Officers and SHOs offices, the attendance will be recorded on the dashboard system. This dashboard system will also be responsible for recording the number of attendees, absentees, medical leave, overseas leave and personnel on security duty.
This is a brilliant initiative—it was evident that serious reform was needed in the police system. The motorway police case made this clear—when the Lahore police found that it has several shortages and had severe lack in resources and manpower. While these shortcomings can be overcome by more resources, what was also needed was a clear record of how many officers were on duty and such logistics so that departments could at least be prepared to know where they lacked. Summons will lead to better transparency—it would lead to a fairer justice system with less backlog of cases. These are good steps to take and should be built on.
https://nation.com.pk/06-Dec-2020/needed-reforms
Needed Reforms: edit in The Nation, Dec 6, 2020
The police system seems to be set to make some very needed structural changes. One of the changes, according to the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Punjab Inam Ghani, is that citizens should not be called in police offices or stations without summons. Moreover, funds have been set aside to set up a software for digital monitoring of people, called in the police stations or offices, which has been planned to be launched in January 2021.
There will be a formal system for the summons; the investigating officer must register the orders to appear at a police station in Register 5/A under which electronic attendance system in all police stations. At all RPOs, DPOs, SPs, Circle Officers and SHOs offices, the attendance will be recorded on the dashboard system. This dashboard system will also be responsible for recording the number of attendees, absentees, medical leave, overseas leave and personnel on security duty.
This is a brilliant initiative—it was evident that serious reform was needed in the police system. The motorway police case made this clear—when the Lahore police found that it has several shortages and had severe lack in resources and manpower. While these shortcomings can be overcome by more resources, what was also needed was a clear record of how many officers were on duty and such logistics so that departments could at least be prepared to know where they lacked. Summons will lead to better transparency—it would lead to a fairer justice system with less backlog of cases. These are good steps to take and should be built on.
https://nation.com.pk/06-Dec-2020/needed-reforms
Published in Pak Media comment and Pakistan