Dolphin Force is an elite unit of the Punjab Police that focuses on combating

street crime Street crime is a loose term for any criminal offense in a public place. According to London's Metropolitan Police Force, "Robbery, often called 'mugging', and thefts from victims in the street where their property is snatched and the victim is no ...

. It was modelled on the Istanbul Police Dolphin Force and launched by the Chief Minister of Punjab,

Shahbaz Sharif Mian Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif (born 23 September 1951) is a Pakistani politician and businessman who has served as the 20th Prime Minister of Pakistan, prime minister of Pakistan since March 2024, having previously been in the role between Ap ...

, in

Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...

in 2016. Since then, it has been expanded to six other cities in the province, with a total of 696 policemen trained in its second phase. In 2016, it was announced that a Dolphin Force would be introduced in other major cities in Punjab, such as

Faisalabad Faisalabad, formerly known as Lyallpur, is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, second-largest city and primary List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, industrial center of the Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan ...

Rawalpindi Rawalpindi is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, third-largest city in the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is a commercial and industrial hub, being the list of cities in P ...

Multan Multan is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, fifth-most populous city in the Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab province of Pakistan. Located along the eastern bank of the Chenab River, it is the List of cities in Pakistan by populatio ...

Gujranwala Gujranwala is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, fourth most-populous city in the Pakistani province of Punjab. Located in northern-central Punjab's Rachna Doab, it serves as the headquarters of its Gujranwala District, epony ...

Bahawalpur Bahawalpur (Urdu: ; ) is a city in Punjab, Pakistan. It is the 13th largest city of Pakistan and List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, 8th most populous city of Punjab. Bahawalpur is the capital of Bahawalpur Division. Founded in ...

and

Dera Ghazi Khan Dera Ghazi Khan, abbreviated as D.G. Khan, is a city in the southwestern part of the Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab province of Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, 16th most-populous city in Punjab and List of most p ...

. However, the plan was approved in 2017 but has not yet been implemented. A headquarters and an SP would be required in each city.

Organization and structure

The Dolphin Force command centre is headed by the Superintendent of Police (SP) and is divided among several cities including Saggian Bridge, Iqbal Town,

Harbanspura Harbanspura () is a town of Lahore in Punjab, Pakistan. It is located on the Nahr bank near the Indian border. It was a jaagir of Raja Harbans Singh. After his death, his widow, Rani Chawnia became the owner of the estate. At the Partition of In ...

, Chung,

Civil Lines Civil Lines, historically known as White Town, were residential neighborhoods developed during the British Raj for senior civilian officers, such as the Divisional Commissioner and District Magistrate. These townships were established across the In ...

and Model Town, each with 50 motorcycles. The headquarters of the Dolphin Force is located on Walton Road in Lahore. The force consists of 1,800 constables, 60 assistant sub-inspectors (ASIs), 15 sub-inspectors (SIs), 4 Deputy Superintendents of Police (DSPs), and a superintendent of police (SP), who work in three shifts with 300 motorcycles. The equipment used by the Dolphin Force includes 300 500cc Honda motorcycles, 10 minibuses for field support, 600 helmets, 600 camera-body cams, 200 GPS locators, and 300 wireless radios. Dolphin patrol officials are required to wear a special uniform. Every motorcycle is operated by two police officers equipped with a wireless radio,

firearm A firearm is any type of gun that uses an explosive charge and is designed to be readily carried and operated by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see legal definitions). The first firearms originate ...

handcuffs Handcuffs are Physical restraint, restraint devices designed to secure an individual's wrists in proximity to each other. They comprise two parts, linked together by a Link chain, chain, a hinge, or rigid bar. Each cuff has a rotating arm whi ...

GPS The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a satellite-based hyperbolic navigation system owned by the United States Space Force and operated by Mission Delta 31. It is one of the global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) that provide geol ...

tracking device, camera and a special uniform in black with contrasting red and white colours. A team of 25 police officers, led by an SP, travelled to Türkiye on 1 March 2015 for a two-month training program. Upon their return, they are to train 1,200 constables and other members of the force who have been selected for Dolphin Force.

Criticism and controversies

Dolphin Force has been criticised for its mismanagement and lack of effectiveness. Despite spending one billion on the project, the force has been called a "

white elephant A white elephant is a possession that its owner cannot dispose of without extreme difficulty, and whose cost, particularly that of maintenance, is out of proportion to its usefulness. In modern usage, it is a metaphor used to describe an object, ...

" for the Punjab government. Instead of investing in fundamental police reforms and providing infrastructure and resources to existing organizations, a new force was created. Several issues have been identified, such as each officer being given only one uniform to wear every day without the opportunity to change. The 50,000 rupee per piece parachute apparel was unsuitable for the warm climate in Lahore and had to be replaced with cotton uniforms, resulting in a significant waste of public funds. Additionally, the heavy bikes purchased for one million rupees each had no spare parts and as maintenance staff had no experience with such vehicles, minor faults led to the bikes being taken out of service without replacements. Expensive helmets with

Bluetooth Bluetooth is a short-range wireless technology standard that is used for exchanging data between fixed and mobile devices over short distances and building personal area networks (PANs). In the most widely used mode, transmission power is li ...

technology were not fully utilised, as the Bluetooth was never integrated into the central communication network. Furthermore, constables with salaries as low as 22,000 rupees have been found taking

bribe Bribery is the corrupt solicitation, payment, or acceptance of a private favor (a bribe) in exchange for official action. The purpose of a bribe is to influence the actions of the recipient, a person in charge of an official duty, to act contrar ...

s and providing safe passage to drug dealers.

Street crime rate in Lahore

Despite spending billions on the project and its high operational cost, the crime rate in Lahore rose in early 2016 and continued to increase throughout the year, with a 13.37% increase in July 2017.

References

{{Pakistani special forces Punjab Police (Pakistan) Provincial law enforcement agencies of Pakistan Police special forces of Pakistan Pakistan–Turkey relations