Context
The Province of Sindh in Pakistan faces numerous peace and security related challenges such as lawlessness, organized crime and terrorism. This counts especially for the province capital Karachi, which is one of the largest urban melting pots in the world. Citizens often perceive the police to lack transparency and accountability. Supporting the building of a professional and efficient police force is a great necessity.
Objective
The capacity of the police forces in Sindh Province are strengthened that they can fulfil their duties in the best interests of the citizens. Institutional reforms are aiming to increase levels of efficiency and professionalism required by the police. Making the civil society and media a part of this reform process is an important objective.
Approach
Together with the Police of Sindh, tailor made trainings, workshops and seminars are being organised. Study trips offer officers the opportunity to visit foreign police, forensic departments and other law enforcement facilities of other agencies, conferences and seminars. Much needed infrastructural support is extended through the procurement of equipment such as IT equipment and training materials. The support also includes police and forensic equipment such as fingerprint systems and motorbikes as well as small renovation measures at the four district police offices in Hyderabad, Larkana, Sukkur and Mirpur Khas.
The project activities include the civil society and the building of a political dialogue in relation to all joint reform efforts. To achieve these goals, open dialogue among stakeholders, including other law enforcement agencies, but also the international organisations, and media, as well as collaborations with local advocacy groups such as the NGO "The Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS)" are encouraged. All technical interventions are jointly developed and implemented through pilot activities. Successful components are then replicated in other parts of Sindh.
Results
To build up capacity and enhance organisational skills a basic training programme for police recruits is developed and jointly implemented with the training department. The Sindh Police approved till now nine modules and made them part of the official training curricula for police recruits and cadets. In two training cycles of 2014, 7.220 young police officers successfully completed their training. An average of 40 police trainers have been trained to conduct each of the basic nine training courses, and new modules are regularly being developed.
Having been provided with IT equipment and furniture, the largest Police training college in Sindh now provides a conducive learning environment and resources to its trainees.
Investigators and forensic experts’ skills and competences in conducting forensic investigations and crime scene management are improved. 721 officers have been trained in special seminars conducted by national and international forensic, fingerprint and ballistic experts. Two firearm specialists of the Sindh Police took part in a training course organised by the New Scotland Yard in the United Kingdom. New special fingerprint systems and investigation equipment have improved the forensic division capacity to collect and analyse forensic evidence.
Study visits to Germany and to a Police / Prosecution week in the United Kingdom as well as the participation in the biggest one-week forensic Symposium in Australia in 2014 inspired recent measures aimed at optimising organisational efficiency in the Forensic Department.
An electronic complaint management and a resource management system for the four district police offices in four of Sindh’s largest cities of Hyderabad, Larkana, Sukkur and Mirpur Khas are being developed.
In collaboration with the NGO "The Centre for Research and Development", several awareness and advocacy campaigns in newspapers as well as TV-spots and talk shows to raise public demand for better police services and support for reforms were realised. Considerable public and media echoes are achieved in relation to jointly implemented measures and successes.