Better policing

THE Punjab government's move to link the funds for police with a social audit looks like an effort to improve the performance of the department. Apart from this, the allocated funds in the upcoming budget for the law enforcement agency have reportedly been decreased on the ground that since a high amount of resources could not raise its performance, there was no point in wasting the money. The statistics bear testimony to the fact that the government's argument makes sense. As expected, this decision has not been very much to the liking of the police high-ups. But they have been rightly told to make the department more efficient, more disciplined and public-friendly. The instruction is, at the same time, accompanied by an assurance by the government that the funds would be increased if the police come up to the required standard in their performance

Having said that, the need is to make the department more organized by creating a system of accountability that leaves little room for negligence. Though cutting down on its funds might help, it may not be a source of better policing in the long term. A former provincial police chief, while talking to a private TV channel, confessed that the department had been used throughout the country's history as a tool of suppression by various governments to intimidate opponents. And this was responsible for its current repute. It is not only the tip but the whole iceberg also would have to be examined.