Written by Umar Riaz, Director of the National Police Academy, Islamabad 

Whether we’re talking about democracies or dictatorships, there isn’t a government department with more bearing on the public than the police. In Pakistan, however, no other department (barring a few exceptions) is considered more disconnected from the public than the police. The police department is also a unique public service for having dual roles. It has to ensure the safety of citizens while curbing the liberty of those considered a threat to public safety. They have therefore been given vast powers under national laws. They can search, seize and detain anyone they believe to be involved in any crime. This is significant power in any civilized and democratic society. 

“Formal accountability originates from the law, and informal accountability from social norms”

This is not to say that this kind of power is not sometimes necessary. Few societies can function without legal consequences for those who break the law. But it’s essential to balance the authority which police enjoy with the solid accountability mechanisms. There are two ways of operating with accountability; formal and informal. Formal accountability originates from the law and informal accountability from social norms. Most laws governing the police in Pakistan (there are numerous due to the police being a provincial subject) vest the formal accountability mechanisms in either the government or the police high-ups. Informal accountability, which the department institutes as restrictions on its members, exists at a bare minimum and often only becomes functional after public outcries at police abuse and excesses. 

“The public forums or community policing models, which are now considered an integral part in any policing system, are yet to take root in Pakistan”

Police accountability has thus remained an instrument of control. The street cop (or the constable in local parlance) feels more beholden towards their superiors than the general public they are required to serve. Police officials are penalized in large numbers yearly, but it’s almost always for administrative issues and rarely for their conduct towards the public. Similarly, informal norms are also either non-existent or of a reactive nature. The public forums or community policing models, which are now considered an integral part of any policing system, are yet to take root in Pakistan. It’s therefore no surprise that citizens’ confidence in the police remains low as they seldom get a chance to criticize police work or see police officers involved in excesses disciplined. 

Accountable leadership is a powerful way forward out of this impasse. It’s a tool to empower the police and not restrain them. At the same time, it’s empowering for communities too. Where police officers often complain of not getting enough acknowledgment for their hard work, they fail to see how their solutions to bridge this divide are often short-term or superficial. Accountable leadership based on the values of integrity, humility, practicality, collaboration and innovation is a sustainable and acceptable way out of this situation. It should, however, be kept in mind that the onus to take the initiative is on the police. The problem lies with them, so solutions should also emanate from them.

“Humility operates at two levels – the readiness to be wrong and acknowledging the public as customers and not as subjects”

The road to accountable leadership has three important milestones; internal, external, and systematic, which also coincide with the five values mentioned earlier. Internal dialogue is the first step. No department can implement proper changes which are not based on integrity. Neither can individuals survive in a challenging environment without integrity as a shield. Having integrity means that the organization and the individual can resist the pressure. This should be our starting point. For a public service, humility is the next milestone. Humility operates at two levels – the readiness to be wrong and acknowledging the public as customers and not as subjects. This infers the need for internal transformations – often a very challenging task. Training, such as Accountability Lab’s Accountable Leadership program, centers these principles and helps police officers embed integrity and become role models. 

“Accountable leadership is not just about symbolism; it’s also about outcomes where leaders are responsible for the optimal and efficient allocation of resources”

External transformation has other core elements – practicality and collaboration. That is where existing community participation models can be tweaked and improved. Practicality stems from the fundamental laws of economics, limited resources, and unlimited wants. 

Accountable leadership is not just about symbolism; it’s also about outcomes where leaders are responsible for the optimal and efficient allocation of resources. Practicality and collaboration work side by side. Policing cannot operate in isolation and police officers must remain mindful of collaboration. However, collaboration often remains restricted to official collaboration, i.e., with other organs of the criminal justice system. The type of collaboration under an accountable leadership mechanism is more expansive and holistic. It covers players and coalitions often isolated and left out. 

Internal and external accountability approaches, however, risk being superficial without systematic change as an objective. This only comes through innovation – accountable leadership principles’ final and fifth value. It should be no surprise that innovation is taken as a value and not only a strategy or tool. Innovation as a value means that it should become part of the organizational culture and integral to how the people think and operate. Innovation that combines the internal values of integrity and humility with external values of practicality and collaboration weaves systematic change in an organized way. Such change will be both sustainable and productive. 

“Innovation as a value means that it should become part of the organizational culture and something integral to how the people think and operate”

Accountable leadership is not only a moral and legal obligation but will practically help the police with much-needed institutional reform. It is also a win-win situation for both the police and the public. The pressing need is to make it central to police performance. This can happen with additional initiatives like citizen audits, citizen report cards, horizontal accountability through citizen councils, and bottom-up performance evaluation. No one can argue that policing is not just about solving crimes and filing court cases. It’s also about citizen confidence, public perception, and productive engagements. Social media is already the most popular forum for citizen-police interactions in Pakistan. Police supervisors with consistent public outreach platforms often create a positive public image. With police reforms already at the top of the political agenda, what’s missing are tools to transform these reforms into a system with specific goals and norms. Promoting accountable leadership principles in the police can nudge us towards creating that system in Pakistan.

This article was produced under Accountability Lab Pakistan’s Accountable Leadership program supported by the National Endowment for Democracy (NED).

Sheena Adams