SPSC-passed officers frustrated with police force

KARACHI, March 1: The government plan to reform the police department through the induction of Sindh Public Service Commission-passed officers has hardly returned the desired results, as after more than seven years of the exercise, a large number of qualified officers appointed have resigned from their posts for better employment opportunities, while others who continue to serve the department complain of no progress in their careers during the past seven years.

Background interviews with those who qualified for the jobs after passing the SPSC exams in 2002 and who then quit the service, led to the conclusion that initially, the plan was widely appreciated and received a positive response from the highly qualified candidates. However, a large number of officers did not find the police service in line with their expectations and corruption, mismanagement and no reward for their services forced them to explore new and better employment opportunities.

“I hardly spent a few months with the city police,” said Abdul Samad Mehsud, a qualified engineer, who preferred to join the police force along with other friends after passing out from the NED University of Engineering and Technology.

“We passed all exams and met the medical requirements, but were disappointed when the training started and such feeling continued to grow till me and my friends got postings as assistant sub-inspectors.” After spending months as an ASI in the city police, Mehsud returned to his family business following his resignation from the service like three of his university batch-mates, who got themselves employed with different private companies one after the other in line with their academic qualifications.

Apart from those who resigned from the police force, many officers currently serving the department are not satisfied with their careers while some of them, after spending more than seven years in the department, have become a “part of the traditional police system”. There are even those who see their current occupation as a compulsion with no other opportunity available.

“I have been serving as an ASI since I joined the force in 2002,” said an officer, who was a qualified criminologist and joined the force after qualifying the SPSC exams.

“As an ASI, I draw less than Rs10,000 salary, with no medical, residential or other benefits. Initially, most of us joined the force with a passion and desired to reform the police. But with the passage of time, that spirit almost died in this working environment.” He said that a large number of his colleagues formally resigned with the passage of time from their posts, while there were also a significant number of officers who quit the department without intimating their high-ups and finally got fired from service following the issuance of notices warning them several times to resume their jobs.

The government in 2002 appointed 450 ASIs, who passed the SPSC exams and had at least a Bachelor’s degree as a basic academic qualification, in a move meant to overhaul the culture in the police depart ment and to induct young, educated officers into the department.

Though the initiative attracted a decent response from citizens of Karachi as fresh graduates, engineers and criminologists applied for the posts, it fell short of expectations as no turnaround was witnessed in the department, neither did it succeed in keeping such officers in their posts for a long period.

The police authorities agree that the service they are in does not offer a prosperous future and needs urgent attention from the high-ups to make it more attractive.

But at the same time they also believe that rules and regulations to progress in the profession were clear from the very first day and one should have considered those first when he or she had planned to join the force.

“We have currently more than 3,500 ASIs posted in Karachi,” said Waseem Ahmed, Capital City Police Officer (CCPO). “Promotion in the police depends on seniority and these 450 who were appointed through the SPSC exams were deemed junior to those who were serving the department with the same rank prior to their induction. So, the promotion in the department is awarded on first come, first served basis, and not on the channel of appointment or academic qualifications,” he said.

He added that there were precedents that officers appointed as ASIs excelled in their services and were promoted to the SP level, saying that the rules could not be changed for a particular group.

The CCPO’s argument, however, sounds unconvincing to SPSC officers, who believed that the high-ups never made any serious effort to reform the police department.

“Under this logic, how can you expect to attract intelligent, educated, honest and sincere members of society to join the police force?” said an officer, who has a Master’s degrees in linguistics and political science.

“Performance also plays a part in securing promotions, but you would have hardly heard about an SPSC officer elevated under this criteria.”
http://epaper.dawn.com/ArticleText.a...3_2009_115_002