A Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) report recently revealed that 20 police stations were not housed in proper buildings, even though alternatives were available.
The report released on Thursday said that FAFEN monitors visited 171 police stations in 98 districts. They found up to 70 stations operating out of dilapidated buildings. Out of these, 27 were in Punjab, 19 in Sindh and seven in Balochistan.
Fifty three police stations had unhygienic lockups. However, 159 had lavatories for staff and inmates; 167 had electricity; 159 had fans and 157 had telephones/wireless.
As many as 169 police stations had vehicles but 11 did not have fuel to run them. On the other hand 42 were short of stationery and 43 did not have clean drinking water, the report said.
The report revealed that up to 53 police stations had unhygienic prisons. However, 159 had lavatories for staff and inmates; 167 had electricity; 159 had fans and 157 had telephones/wireless. As many as 169 police stations had vehicles but 11 did not have the fuel to run them. On the other hand 42 were short of stationery and 43 did not have access to clean drinking water,
The occupancy rate for male and female staff was satisfactory. For men, all the sanctioned posts at police stations monitored in Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) were filled.
The figures for male occupancy were as follows: Balochistan (91 percent), Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (88 percent), Sindh (82 percent) and Punjab (75 percent). Sindh (93 percent) had the highest occupancy rate for female staff; the rates were 83 percent for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab and 63 percent in Balochistan.
As for the enactment of access to information policy, copies of challans to courts were not accessible by the public in 65 police stations. Information related to FIRs was comparatively better – they were accessible in 102 police stations.
Relevant data showed that 84 police stations had not received any request seeking information, indicating a possible lack of awareness about the policy. Moreover, 35 Station House Officers (SHOs) had no idea that such a policy existed although it was adopted by Punjab in 2006 and Sindh the following year.
The report said that 68 police stations did not have separate registers to record requests seeking information, while 64 had no Information Access Officers; 26 were without the draft of Access to Information Policy.
Around 22 SHOs showed dissatisfaction when asked about government’s support. The reasons cited included lack of staff, insufficient logistical support (vehicles/mobile vans and fuel etc), shortage of stationery and scant funding).
The reporting quarter saw 111 visits by government officials and elected representatives to the monitored police stations. However, 60 had been completely ignored.
The District Police Officers (DPOs) made the most visits (67) followed by members’ of national and provincial assemblies (four visits each). Government/elected representatives including Regional Police Officers (RPO), a federal minister and leading area notables made 36 visits.
