So the revolution started on the motorway with good honest cops, and now seems to have been incorporated into Islamabad… This is one success that no one can doubt, not even the cynics.
But the real proof of the pudding lies in replicating this success in larger cities…
Lol, check out the pic of the police woman helping the old lady cross the street! :hehe:
Reformation that did wonders
http://www.dawn.com/weekly/dmag/dmag11.htm
By Huma Khawar
A year after the capital police department was revamped, its performance has improved, much to the surrise of many
“Baji, have you ever seen anything like this before?” My driver, Javed, asked pointing towards a corner. I looked up and from the car window saw two young boys standing at a corner and a traffic police officer approaching them, a petrol drum in his hand. He gave the boys the drum that filled their motorbike tank and left. A few days later, standing at another traffic signal, I saw a traffic police officer pushing a car and giving a helping hand to the lady in the driving seat.
A police man walking up to a traffic violator, greeting him first and then handing him a chalan, has changed the entire image of the department. As the saying goes, where there’s a will, there’s a way. At every junction, you see this new grey and white uniformed personnel with no bellies popping out. Even where there is no police force in sight, laws are implemented and rules are being followed. Cars with sirens moving on the capital streets like Wee Willie Winkie. The rejuvenated capital police completes its first year this month.
Many believe that the change has come in return of big money being doled out to the department. But believe you me, it didn’t take rocket science to streamline the traffic police network in Islamabad. It was a personal agenda of the prime minister who gave light to this dream and transformed it into reality. The committee formed to come up with a proposal for reformation and overhauling system comprised IGs, philanthropists and some able men. They decided to have a totally different image, a separate entity, different uniforms and salary structure.
The tried and tested model of Motorway police was followed with initial training, to be courteous and polite, a bit of English courses, motorway ordinances, etc., and they were on the go. Now running around in Islamabad one could spot a diplomat number plate parked in front of a police car. It is surprising to know that now it is the police department which wants to do more and more good work and are being cautioned to slow down and take one step a time. They are full of energy, full of courtesy, full of patriotism.
“It was a pilot project, inaugurated in January last year. The idea was that if it succeeded, it will be replicated all over the country. The proof of the pudding is in the eating, it’s right in front of you. If we can do it in the capital where VIP culture is abundant, we can do it anywhere,” says Helina Saeed, SP Traffic, Islamabad Traffic Police.
“Mashalla, I can say we are absolutely corruption-free. We give them the usual double salary. There are very strict checks and balances. There are surveillance teams and we are alert all the time. They say as the number of chalans go higher, so does the inbuilt commission of the department.”
So it has been legitimized? “There is no commission given to the traffic police officer for the chalan. It is a wrong assumption. The number of chalans is going up because the violations are there. You cannot ignore a violation.”
The only female civil servant in the police department, SP Helina preferred the police service, because she was “temperamentally suited” to it. Does it mean she was aggressive? “It’s not about being aggressive,” she corrects me, “you have to have steel within. When you are interrogating hardened criminals, aggression doesn’t help. You need to have inner strength to stand in front of that person and stay there. I think I had it because I am still there.”
It was no doubt “an unchartered territory” but at the same time “challenging and dangerous”. Ten years in the force, she counts it “a great experience, and no regrets”.
Is there a problem giving orders to subordinates who are males? “Well, it depends how you give those orders. The force has to look up to you and respect you. If they don’t do that, they are not going to follow you. There has to be integrity.”
The soft image comes in the shape of women sergeants – being identified with long braids and plaits. “We have women in the police force, so why not in the traffic,” she asks. “Our women need to become more substantial and contribute towards the economy. Whatever field they choose, they should perform to the best of their ability.”
She feels women in police have to be geared in professionally. Rural background, police uniform, long duty hours, standing on the road and roughing it out, takes time to adjust. SP Helina adds, “I am personally for women joining but then I expect them to give it their best shot. It’s not easy, though it might look easy. It’s a 24-hour career, you have to spread really thin in order to go in every direction.”