KARACHI, Feb 22: The quality of police training in Sindh has deteriorated over the years to such an extent that the entire exercise has been rendered a mere formality, from which officers generally tend to shy away, it has emerged.

The training is more focused on physical exercise and parades, as the syllabus being followed at the training centres is outdated. Inquires made by Dawn suggest that there is no textbook or training manual at the centres.

A senior officer, however, observed that trainees are expected to read the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC),Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), Qanoon-i-Shahadat and the Police Rules, adding that this was too much to expect from junior officers.

In the physical component of training, weapons handling, training and an anti-riot course are offered at police institutes.

However, the inspector-general of police, Sindh, has recently constituted a committee to revise the syllabus for training in order to improve it. An official said that a training manual is also under consideration and that it would encompass all aspects of training.

Sources said that courses focusing on human rights, community policing and criminology have been introduced recently, but the training centres are slow to adapt to these courses.

Untrained trainers

Ironically, the officials who are posted as trainers at different police schools and colleges don’t have the aptitude or the prerequisite training to undertake such an important job.

In fact, being posted as the principal of a police college or school is widely considered to be a punishment by those in the police department. It is rare that a competent officer volunteers to be posted to the police training institute. Generally, those who opt for the job become tired of the routine of police work, and are attracted by the better accommodation at institutes and the limited working hours.

Sources said that the authorities concerned do not give due consideration to the aptitude of candidates for positions at police institutes.

“Since there is a dearth of professional faculty in the police department, it is high time that the department considers arranging for visiting faculty from public sector universities to teach at the police training institutes to improve the standard of education,” maintained a senior officer.

The last time visiting faculty contributed to police training was in 2004-05, when some retired trainers from the United States visited Karachi and Shahdadpur College to teach trainers.

Haphazard state of affairs

Sources said that there are no fixed dates for when the course starts every year. Similarly, the nominations for the courses are not done in advance.

The district police officers are also usually unwilling to relieve officers for the course, as they then run short on manpower.

The police training institutes lack discipline to the extent that trainees are generally allowed to join the courses several weeks late, sources said.

Similarly, corruption is rampant in the training institutes, and trainees often manage to get themselves marked present by bribing the staff.

The gunmen and other staff members of senior officers generally don’t undergo training, and sit in the examination in order to pass the course, thus avoiding the tough training, sources informed Dawn.

Insiders said that since there is an increasing trend of out-of-turn promotions, well-connected officers don’t bother to go for training, and prefer instead to be promoted out-of-turn and bypass these formalities.

“If the department implements strict discipline and enforcement of standards in the police training institutes, the attitude of the policemen with common citizens and overall outlook of the department could be improved,” observed a senior police officer.

However, he pointed out that in order to achieve these objectives, constables and sub-inspectors need to be hired strictly on merit.

The problems at training institutes are not limited to the personnel. Since they do not have a high priority for the police department, these institutes are also allocated insufficient funds to operate. The Shahdadpur training college doesn’t even have a boundary wall, and if it was in Karachi its land would already have been encroached upon, an officer remarked.

Apart from the passing out parade, senior officers like the capital city police officer or the inspector-general of police, Sindh, never visit police training institutes on surprise visits to check the state of affairs, insiders said.

Types of courses, institutes

Below is a list of the training courses offered at police training institutes: Upper School Training Course for Sub-Inspectors, a prerequisite for promotion to the rank of inspector; Intermediate School Course for ASIs, required for promotion to the rank of SI; Lower School Course for Head Constables, a prerequisite for promotion to the rank of ASI; Commando Course for different ranks in the elite/commando units; Recruit Course for newly appointed constables; Head Moharar course.

Short courses are also a component of training, but they are currently not being conducted.

Sindh has two police training colleges, in Saeedabad (Karachi) and Shahdadpur, as well as two police training schools, in Larkana and the Capital City Police Training School in Karachi.

There is an Elite Training Centre at Razzaqabad in Karachi.

There are also two recruit training centres at Khairpur and Jam Nawaz Ali, district Sanghar.

There is a police training institute in Ganjo Takar near Hyderabad, but it has failed to function properly due to its inconvenient location, sources said.

Interestingly, there is no course on investigation techniques, which would be helpful for both junior and senior officers.