Akhtar Lalayka (PSP) Tamgha-e-Imtiaz
Chief Minister Punjab seems to be very vibrant and taking initiatives to improve civic situation in order to facilitate people of Punjab in many areas of life.Indeed, effective and professional oversight is the only key to success, which is supposed tomonitor the true implementation according to its spirit. Vision of the Chief Minister of Punjab to curb crime and start a battle against drug paddlers, discourage Qabza mafias and manage inflationis really appreciable. Unfortunately, authorities are using various techniques, legitimate or otherwise, to achieve superfluous results.
Achievements are showcased by the implementers in an artistic manner.Most of them are unsustainable due to lack of proper oversight. In other words, it is only a painkiller. As everyone knows, unsustainable policies are always counterproductive and create considerable gaps between people and the rulers. The Governments should know the pulse of people while reviewing the implementation status; however they are solely dependent on figures presented by the authorities. All policies should have been crafted and implemented for the welfare of people at large. Despite visible steps of the Chief Minister coupled with the bulk of the resources, the situation is not commendable. Unfortunately, the root cause of all ills is yet to be identified. The police investigators are not properly trained, and the training institutions are considered to be a secondary preference of the authorities. It is evident, according to the crime figures of the Central Police Office, Punjab, for the year 2025, that the acquittal percentage was 69% against all crimes.
Acquittal percentage in Blind murder was 89%, likewise, the acquittal percentage in dacoity / Robbery with murder was 67%. The conviction percentage of robbery and Motor vehicle snatching remained at 2%. It speaks a lot about the lack of professionalism of investigators. But unfortunately, corrective measures have not been taken to equip our training institutions to cope with the challenges. Unless training institutions are given first priority, the situation can never be encouraging, and ultimately, we have to be dependent on shortcuts and illegitimate solutions. Punjab has established state of the art forensic lab and has invested a considerable amount on safe city projects, but the end users are police investigators, and they are almost ignorant of using this facility for corroboration of evidence as they are not trained for the purpose. Courts are taking advantages of their incompetence, used to acquit the criminals under the shadow of the benefit of doubt, resulting in damaging the fabric of the criminal justice system with impunity. As you know, progressive countries are pouring their resources into police training to achieve meaningful results. Societies cannot survive and prosper through interim arrangements and unsustainable policies. I believe Chief Minister Punjab, who seems to be doer and capable, can set the priorities to upgrade police training institutions under capable, professional command and revisit training modules to impart the best training and produce the best investigators, incentivized by giving due weightage to their next promotion linked with performance during training. This memorable intervention will go a long way and also contribute meaningfully to strengthening the criminal justice system. Consequently, the conviction rate will rise at an optimal level.
