Karachi’s Additional Inspector General of Police Ghulam Nabi Memon has inaugurated a unit named ‘Technical Assistance Room’ (TSR)to manage case files of arrested criminals so as to improve the progress of the Investigation Branch under the Criminal Justice System (CJS).
Officials said on Saturday the Technical Assistance Room had been set up at the Anti Vehicle Lifting Cell (AVLC) to prevent the benefits from being received by suspects on the basis of shortcomings in case files in the courts. The investigation officers will be provided with full technical assistance during the investigations under the new unit.
The officials gave a detailed briefing the city police chief on investigation performance, vehicle-lifting crime and arrests of suspects. Additional IGP Memon appreciated the efforts of the investigation department and officials of the AVLC.
The officials said it was the vision of the city police chief, who put focus on the conviction rate of criminals, and it had been observed that the conviction rate was very low due to several reasons. The analysis of the Criminal Justice System (CJS) suggests an approach that requires improving investigation as well as prosecution of cases in the courts of law.
In this regard, establishing a panel of lawyers is a step forward to assist the resource-intensive prosecution service by hiring well-reputed private lawyers at market rates to prosecute high-profile cases. Further, it will offer a choice to the complainant to opt for lawyers of their liking from the panel of lawyers established through this scheme.
The establishment of a panel of lawyers for the prosecution of high-profile cases is a step forward to achieve the following aims and objectives: supporting resource intensive prosecution service through input from well-reputed private lawyers hired at market rates; improvement in conviction rates in high-profile cases from the present less than 20 per cent to 50 per cent; improvement in the preparation of case files for the prosecution of high-profile cases; offering a choice to the complainants by opting lawyer of their choice based on the lawyer’s track record in prosecuting high-profile cases.
Meanwhile, High-profile cases include criminal cases of murder, dacoity and robbery with murder, dacoity and robbery with injury, dacoity and robbery, attempt to murder, extortion, kidnapping for ransom and any other cases declared a high-profile case by the competent authority.
Official said that earlier several policies were made for the improvement of the Investigation Branch, which played a key role in the performance of the police, but many of the policies failed as the officials deployed had not been trained for investigations of high-profile cases, but this time the officials deputed at the Investigation Branch had been given training.
Earlier, as envisaged in the Police Order 2002, the results are not forthcoming despite the fact that years have been passed since the order was enforced. In fact, independent surveys have indicated that the standard of services provided to the public by the police department have deteriorated, especially on the investigation and detection sides.
Taking away the responsibility of investigation from the station house officer (SHO) and handing it over to a separate wing has created mass confusion among the affected people of the public, who find it very difficult to approach the officer dealing with their cases. Even the senior echelons of the police department find it difficult to promptly provide relief to the effected citizen.
In the old system, every citizen knew that the SHO being responsible had to be contacted because he had the answers to their queries regarding the initiation of an FIR as well as the progress thereafter. The situation is even worse in the interior of Sindh as compared to Karachi where long distance matters a lot.
The basic idea behind making the investigation wing independent was to make it more efficient and result-oriented. Thereby, providing justice to the victims of the violation of law unfortunately this was not to be, officials said, adding that after this new system formed by Additional IGP Ghulam Nabi Memon, effective results would be achieved in the near future.
