LAHORE: Reshuffle in the police department has become an “exercise in futility” because of excessive use of the tool meant to improve efficiency of officials.

The city police authorities on Thursday came up with another series of traditional changes in the rank of the station house officer, sending three SHOs to the Police Lines, appointing two new ones and reshuffling four others.

Excessive reshuffle at the SHO-level has become a common practice which is not only adversely affecting the working of the field police but also flies in the face of the Police Order 2002 which stipulates up to three-year posting tenure for the in-charge police station.

Some officers who repeatedly face punishments are reposted by the police authorities.

Officials say absence of any mechanism and tenure instability are two major reasons for failure of the police station system and increasing crime graph in the city.

Islampura SHO Chaudhry Maqsood Ahmad Gujjar, who got posting eight days ago, and Sanda SHO Naveed Azam, who served for only three months, were ‘closed’ to the Police Lines following the orders of the Supreme Court in connection with a suspect’s death in custody (2011).

Lower Mall SHO Sub-Inspector Rafiullah, who served for only three months, was also transferred and directed to report to the Police Lines.

Manawan SHO Abid Rasheed, who was posted merely three months ago, was transferred and posted Islampura SHO; Baghbanpura SHO Kamran Zaman, who served only for eight months, was transferred and posted Shadbagh SHO vice Muhammad Arham (who remained SHO for around eight months) who was posted Tibbi City SHO.

Inspector Ishtiaq Ahmad from Police Lines was posted Baghbanpura SHO, SI Shabbir Ahmad (Police Lines) was posted Rang Mahal SHO and Rang Mahal additional SHO Asim Rafi was transferred and posted Lower Mall SHO.

Interestingly, Rang Mahal SHO Maqsood Ahmad Gujjar was first transferred after two and a half months and was posted Islampura SHO before his third departure.

According to an SHO frequent removals of officers over allegations of misconduct and misuse of authority are an excuse by senior police officers who either remove SHOs to accommodate their favourites or facilitate the influential people.

He says a good number of SHOs are transferred forthwith on mere allegations or show-cause notices instead of departmental inquiries.

The SHO, who has vast experience of field postings, says approximately 40 inspectors and sub-inspectors of Lahore police are always posted as SHOs out of 84 in different time intervals.

He claims most of those officers have notorious track record but are again posted by the police authorities. Of the around 350 police inspectors available with the Lahore police, less than 100 are seen at SHO-level.

Another SHO says the department lacks a system for field postings and policing owing to certain loopholes. With the transfer of the divisional SP or the SHO, the policy at the police station level is changed forthwith. He says at least two to three months are required by an SHO to understand issues, make policies and get them implemented by his force.

A police source confided to Dawn that the Kahna SHO, who was earlier removed from the post of South Cantonment SHO around a month ago due to indiscipline and moving in private vehicle for official duty, again managed his posting by using links.

He said the officer had been found violating orders of his senior command most of the time.

DIG (Operations) Rana Abdul Jabbar says two SHOs were removed on the Supreme Court’s orders while the third one was transferred on medical grounds.

He claims a couple of SHOs were given other police stations because of their requirements and he had discretion to take important administrative decisions to run police affairs efficiently.

Mr Jabbar agrees that there should be tenure stability in the rank of SHO. Paucity of good officers is a major problem the police authorities face, he claims.