The Sindh Home Department is introducing the Community Watch Project in the metropolis, and it has finalised the modalities for the formal launching of the project in collaboration with the Clifton Cantonment Board, the Defence Housing Authority and the Defence Residents Associations.
A statement on Tuesday said that Sharfuddin Memon – Consultant on Planning, Policy, Public Relations and Home Affairs – presented an implementation plan in a briefing session held at the Home Department.
He said that the project would work on public-private partnership and be supervised by the Home Minister’s Complaint Centre.
“The programme is based on the notion that community interaction and support could help control crime and reduce fear within community members who help identify suspects and bring problems to the attention of the police,” he emphasised.
He pointed out that the project was being started in Defence and its adjoining areas as a pilot project and the same would be extended to other areas of the city as well.
“A number of security cameras in highly sensitive areas, and entry and exit points would be installed for surveillance and be monitored round-the-clock in a control room at Beach Avenue with latest technology infrastructure,” he added.
Additional Home Chief Secretary Waseem Ahmed appreciated the Community Watch Project and observed that the project would help uphold the rule of law as well as remove from the hearts and minds of the citizens the fear of police and police stations.
“Community policing support the systematic use of partnerships and problem-solving techniques that proactively address the immediate conditions that give rise to public safety issues such as crimes, social disorder and fear of crime,” he added.
