Campaign for Police and Prosecution Reforms

The police system working in Pakistan, prior to the Police Order, 2002, was a 140 years old colonial legacy, as it was based on the Police Act, 1861. Several attempts had been made to reform the police system in Pakistan, but without substantial dividends for the public. A major breakthrough was made when the National Reconstruction Bureau (NRB) embarked upon a policy initiative to reform the police system, which resulted in the Police Order, 2002. The Order provides a legal framework, which has initiated a process of transforming police from a mere preventive and detective body to a service-oriented organization. These reforms are in consonance with the Devolution Plan of the Government, as they provide ample opportunities for citizen participation in the institutional structures created for monitoring, oversight and grievance redress.

However, the level of awareness about the changes taking place in the police system is very low. As a result, the new institutional mechanism has not received any substantial pressure from the public. The opportunities for grievance redress and holding the police accountable can only be harnessed when the relevant information and knowledge are fed into the public domain. Community Empowerment/Awareness, Access to Justice Program was launched by the Ministry of Law, Justice and Human Rights (MoL) . The target groups of this nation-wide campaign are general public, civil society groups, media representatives, lawyers, judicial officials, elected representatives of the people, police officials, and government functionaries of implementing agencies.

CRCP collaborated in the campaign and developed a training module Module to explain to the different stakeholders the changes introduced by the Police Order, 2002. Besides, your module has been developed with the aim to create awareness about procedures and forums available for redressal of citizens’ grievances under new legal framework for police. The main objectives for the module were;

Creating awareness among public about the role of police in public safety, rule of law and other services;
Explaining to the stakeholders the changes taking place in the police system with particular emphasis on reforms introduced through Police Order, 2002 as amended to date;
Creating awareness about the new police institutions including the Public Safety and Police Complaints Commissions (PSPCCs), Citizen-Police Liaison Committees (CPLCs), Federal Police Complaints Authority (FPCA), and other professional bodies etc.;
Building capacities of the citizens to use procedure for registration of citizens’ grievances and seek redress of complaints against police;
Empowering the citizens and civil society to hold the police accountable for their performance and duties.

The complete module maybe downloaded from the publication section