Interior Minister Rehman Malik during a visit to the Islamabad Police headquarters. – Photo courtesy of Islamabad Police.

ISLAMABAD: In an attempt to jar the bad cops of the city out of their obstinate ways, the Islamabad police hierarchy has decided to put them to shame, Dawn has learnt.

A points system has been introduced to judge their performance and the first such list has already gone up on the notice boards of police stations and offices and will be posted to their wives soon, according to police sources.

Performance of the police officers from the ranks of assistant sub-inspector to inspectors will be rated every month and one's standing on the list will earn him praise or sneers from the family and comrades, said Superintendent of Police City Zone Capt (retired) Mohammad Ilyas.

A bad report or low standing is expected to shame the poor performer and make him give up his bad ways and do better. Points earned by an officer for his performance will help his superiors to assess his chances of promotion and rewards.

Capt (R) Ilyas said he designed the performance assessment system on the direction of Inspector General of Police Bani Amin Khan.

He has introduced the system as a pilot project in his zone comprising Aabpara, Kohsar, Secretariat and Barakhau police stations.

Efforts in the past to reform the derelict and corrupt policemen did not succeed. Even the recent increase in police pay made no difference.

SP Ilyas said four factors motivate policemen to be good cops.

First, any incentive has to be linked with an activity, second a policeman should have passion and emotional attachment with the activity assigned to him, third, they will work if they have trust that their work will be recognized, and fourth they would perform if they see a sense of purpose in what they have been asked to do.

With those factors in mind, he said he selected six indicators for evaluating the tangible performance of police officers by awarding points.

Ten points are allotted for arresting people accused of murder, robbery, burglary, or car-theft; seven points for arresting a proclaimed offender, three points for court absconders, and two points for military deserters.

A further division awards 0.1 point for arresting beggars and violators of shop and security act, 0.2 for arresting people disturbing public peace.

An officer will earn 0.02 point for each gram of marijuana that he seizes, 0.05 for heroin, 0.03 for opium, 0.01 for a bottle of local and 0.05 for imported liquor and 0.03 for a can of beer.

Similarly 1 point will be awarded for recovering imported pistol, 0.5 for local pistol, 2 for sub-machine gun, 1 for rifle, 3 for hand grenade, 0.1 for bullets and 1 for tampered vehicle, 0.1 point for arresting a suspect and 0.2 for making an arrest under Foreigners Act.

An officer will be awarded 1 point if he earns a commendation certificate but will lose 1 point if he is served with show cause notice.

Opinion

Editorial

Sustainable path?
13 Jun, 2026

Sustainable path?

THE FY27 budget is the first clear signal that the government is ready to transition from stabilisation to growth ...
Prioritising education
13 Jun, 2026

Prioritising education

THOUGH the improvement in the country’s literacy rate may be slight, as highlighted by the Economic Survey, it ...
Poverty’s rise
13 Jun, 2026

Poverty’s rise

AS attention turns to the government’s plans for the coming fiscal year, one set of figures deserves particular...
A difficult story
Updated 12 Jun, 2026

A difficult story

Unless productivity becomes the dominant target of economic policy, Pakistan will continue to oscillate between crises and fragile recovery.
Rough waters
12 Jun, 2026

Rough waters

AMONGST the key potential triggers for fresh conflict in South Asia is water. The Indian state is behaving in an...
Politicised football
12 Jun, 2026

Politicised football

ALMOST three-and-half years since Lionel Messi led Argentina to FIFA World Cup glory, the latest edition of...