Pakistan Police
Pakistan Police
Pakistan Police
Introduction
The police system of Pakistan is more-than-eighty-year-old police system inherited from the
British. It was designed in response to the social and political realities of those times. After
independence, the law enforcement in Pakistan is carried out by several police forces. Currently,
the four provinces and the Islamabad capital territory each have their own police force. Pakistani
police is facing some serious constraints which are diminishing the performance of police system
of Pakistan. Some of these problems are an outdated legal and institutional framework (devised
for principally for a colonial rule, inadequate accountability, poor incentive systems, widespread
corruption, and severe under-resourcing of law and order. In order to combat this situation
several reforms are formed and implemented which exerted a positive impact. During the last
decades, the new development in law enforcement agencies are introduced and manual
identification and investigation systems are converted into computer-based system. These
recently technological systems are using at various places to provide efficient effective and less
The federal level forces working in Pakistan are Federal Investigation Agency, National
Highways and Motorway Police, Pakistan Railways Police and Anti-Narcotics Force.
The regional level forces working in Pakistan are Capital Territory Police, Islamabad Capital
Territory, Punjab Police, Punjab province, Sindh Police, Sindh province, Frontier Police, North-
Frontier Constabulary , Azad Jammu and Kashmir Police, Azad Kashmir region and Northern
Capital police came into existence in 1st Jan 1981 to fulfill the need for separate Police
organization for the federal capital, Islamabad. The mission of capital police is “to uphold the
rule of law with due regard to human rights and human dignity; to serve the people with honesty
and efficiency, with courtesy and respect, with commitment and dedication, in striving to achieve
Islamabad police for its effective operations. Electronic enablement of Islamabad police is best
initiative is a vital part of federal cabinet’s approved national IT Policy action plan. The idea is to
convert the traditional police stations of Pakistan into e-powered police stations, which can
This project includes provision of basic ICT infrastructure at some specific locations of
Islamabad police. Email collaboration suite, office productivity suite and customized
applications (internal registers) are to be provided to enhance the internal efficiency of Islamabad
police. Many customized applications are developed under this project to provide services to
Islamabad police, like Islamabad traffic police and security division of Islamabad police. There
are twenty two registers in a police department covering various activities performed by police
officials to fulfill their duty. Some of the major registers include FIR, roznamacha, daily diary,
proclaimed offenders, lost and stolen vehicles, station inventory and stock register etc. The
automation of these major registers also allows extensive and customized searches on the data
bases generated.
Project also includes the provision of ERP (Enterprise Resource planning) solution to the
Islamabad police. The components of this ERP solution deployed at Capital police are:
Workflow System
Specific Applications
The specific applications are varying across different divisions of capital police such as for
traffic police these are computer-based testing for driver’s license test, computerization of
computerization of old records and computerizing selective logs for radio communications etc.
The system also aids to maintain service record of police officers. Police officials can make
better decisions regarding the placement and tracking of policemen in different regions of
Islamabad.
The project provides development of friendly end user environment, which enables the users to
make better use of databases. All the customized applications, emails, resource, information and
contents provided to the police officers are accessible through one single portal interface so the
police officers can access all their resource through one single window.
Punjab police was officially formed in 1860 after the recommendation of police commission. In
1947, the division of Punjab between Pakistan and India led to the establishment of the Punjab
Police force of Pakistan. The Punjab Police played a significant part in handling the refugee
crisis of 1947-48. The Punjab Police operates under the Police Order 2002 and the Police Rules
of 1934. There is a Central Police Office at Lahore which has a number of functional units like
etc.
Rank Total
Inspector General 01
Additional Inspector General 17
Deputy Inspector General 38
Deputy Inspector General, Legal 01
Assistant Inspector General 11
SSP 26
SSP, Legal 01
CTO (SSP) 05
STO 02
SP 199
SP, Legal 15
ASP 65
DSP 659
DSP, Legal 136
Inspector 2416
Inspector, Legal 462
Senior Traffic Warden 500
Sergeant 81
Sub Inspector 8373
Traffic Wardens 6850
Assistant Sub Inspector 12787
Head Constable 17873
Constable 119513
Total 170,031
The Punjab police established a computer bureau (PCB) in 1987. It was one of the first in-house
provide the consultancy services to the Punjab police regarding computerization, purchase of
hardware, technical support regarding development of different software for various sections and
branches of the Punjab Police, services for analysis, design, development, implementation,
monitoring and troubleshooting of different IT related projects in Punjab Police. In 2000, the
start of e government projects in Pakistan has given a new touch to the information technology
usage in Punjab police. As a result of this boom, Punjab police has implemented several IT
projects such as criminal record management information system (CRMIS) to maintain the
records of criminals, criminal relatives, association, guarantors and gangs; crime mapping
analysis and computerization of police stations, establishment of an electronic crime unit (ECU)
to combat cyber crimes being reported etc. A project for automated finger print identification
system is also being implemented with the assistance of US government to combat terrorism and
This implementation of technology has provided information exchange gateway to the police
regional, district stations with the head office to provide efficient communication and
information sharing for prompt and immediate action. This utilization of information technology
has provided the Pakistani police with an efficient infrastructure. However, as the technology
rapidly becomes obsolete requiring new skills and knowledge to be mastered frequently, so this
technology might not give the full benefits to the police. For the adaptation of this technology a
sound understanding of the principles, purposes and concepts of ICT is required by police.
It should be kept in point that the greatest strengths of computer technology seem closely related
to its greatest weaknesses. IT has the potential to aid in criminal justice activities through the
rapid communication of accurate and complete information, and perhaps a more rational
approach to decision-making. It must be realized that there are limits to this technology, though,
and not overestimate the potential. These very benefits, if not properly controlled or planned,
may result in misuse, unintended consequences, wasted resources, and frustrations. Expanded
computer use by the police is at a crucial point and now is the time to point to a new direction,
one slanting toward attention to evaluation and implementation, stressing performance standards
and transfer, and realizing that police play a broader role in society thansimply fighting crime.
Such a new direction requires careful consideration so that the strengths of technology can be
judiciously marshaled and the weaknesses and potential risks prudently forestalled.
Sources
www.islamabadpolice.gov.pk
www.punjabpolice.gov.pk
www.unafei.or.jp/english/pdf/PDF_rms/no60/ch05.pdf
portal.acm.org/ft_gateway.cfm?id=359049&type=pdf