FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO LOW CONVICTION RATE IN CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM: A CRITICAL STUDY OF POLICE INVESTIGATION PRACTICES

Abstract

The concept explored in this paper is why the criminal justice system in Pakistan has a low conviction rate that can be explained as a result of application of the procedures in the police investigation. The research method is quantitative, in which, structured survey is done to gather data about significant stakeholders of the criminal justice system and among them, police investigators, and the prosecutor and attorneys, prosecution and judges. These findings reveal that poor police investigations, absence of evidence, ineffective and poor prosecution, delays during the judicial processes, corruption and intimidation to witnesses are the major reasons that contributed to low conviction rate. Lack of contemporary investigation techniques and lack of proper training of the law enforcers who are identified as a big impediment to investigation. Besides, the study lays a lot of focus on the implications of lack of judicial efficiency, politicking, and corruption in processing prosecution and judicial cases. These results show that with police training improvements, reinforcements to stronger police prosecutor resources and tighter witness protection programs and solutions to a systemic level of corruption in place, a major positive change could be witnessed in the rate of the Pakistani convictions. This study will lead to enhancing the changes in the policy and help to create a more effective and transparent legal framework in Pakistan since the systematic problems of the criminal justice system are systematically investigated.