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It is quality of police that matters
7/22/2005
According to newspaper reports, government has a plan to increase the number of police stations to 51 in Dhaka city within the span of a few years. The new police stations are being set up to take the pressures off the limited number of the existing ones.
While none should grudge more facilities or amenities for the police or increasing the number of policemen, what comes as a concern from previous experiences is that effective policing in the context of Bangladesh is not so much linked to greater number of men and materials. It really depends on getting more scrupulous and dedicated service from the traditional police force, which seems to be lacking in this often.
Charges have been levelled, not unjustifiably against the police, that police stations cannot be accessed by common people, as they cannot pay bribes to get the police to take action or to goad the police into action by using powerful connections. Police are alleged to be in a collusive relationship with the underworld in many cases that explains the former's inaction against the latter. This is not to say that members of the police are all corrupt and do not do their work with any proper motivation. But it is a reality that a large number of them are corrupt, insincere and lack motivation to engage themselves against crimes and criminality with enough resolve and devotion.
Therefore, the most important thing is to rehabilitate the character of the police so that they can discharge their duties with a measure of integrity and honesty befitting their expected professional characteristics. To this end, the police force must be reformed. Corrupt ones must be weeded out of the police force and all policemen should be regularly subjected to rigorous moral training.
A F M Obayadullah
Gulshan,
Dhaka
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