& çâÌæÚUæð´ ·¤è ¥ôÚU Îð¹Ùæ ÁæÚUè ÚU¹ð´ ¥ÍæüÌ ¥ÂÙð ÜÿØ ÂÚU ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´Ð ãæÚU Ù ×æÙð´, €UØô´ç·¤ ·¤æ× ·¤ÚUÙð âð ¥æÂ·¤ô ©gðàØ ·¤è Âýæç# ãôÌè ãñ ¥õÚU ÁèßÙ ·¤æ ¹æÜèÂÙ ÎêÚU ãôÌæ ãñÐ ÖÜð ãè ÁèßÙ ×ð´ ç·¤ÌÙè Öè ·¤çÆÙæ§ü €UØô´ Ù ¥æ°, çÁ™ææâæ ¥õÚU ©ˆâæã ÕÙæ° ÚU¹ð´Ð ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´, ÜÿØ ã×ðàææ ¥æÂ·Ô¤ Âæâ ãôÌð ãñ´ çÁ‹ãð´ ÂæÙð ·Ô¤ çÜ° ÂýØæâ ¥æÂ ·¤Öè Öè àæéM¤ ·¤ÚU â·¤Ìð ãñ´Ð

LAW OPINION

Police reforms in Bangladesh: Some issues

MD ZAHiDuL iSLAM
SOME months ago the ministry of Home Affairs launches the far-reaching police reform project titled 'Strengthening Bangladesh Police' to improve the law and order situation. The project is launched in an inauspicious
moment when the police is going to loose almost all its public confidence, and when public have begun thinking that providing police force is just wastage of public money. It is, therefore, a piece of good news for both the police and the countrymen, and surely a very timely decision.
As per media revelation, this is a three-year project, which aims at improving performance and professionalism at all levels of the police force. It involves US 13 million and will run in cooperation with the United Nations Development programme (UNDP) and the UK department for international development (DFID). However, it could not be appropriately learnt that how these aims will be achieved. But it is almost certain that the project will focus as usual on crime prevention through better investigation, operation and prosecution, human resource management, training and strategy, use of information technology etc. These are the fixed set of points focused on every time. But this time the concerned authority should be more cautious to plan their reform project, taking lessons from earlier reform actions experience. First of all they should look into the true causes of the failure to achieve success and win public confidence. Otherwise the expensive project will also go in vain like the earlier ones.
It is undeniable that the existing training and strategy for investiga-
tion, operation or prosecution, human resource management in our police department are not sufficient to curb the criminality in the country and maintain the law and order situation. Moreover, there are legal loopholes, as for example anticipatory bail, writ petition seeking injunction etc, helping the criminals to evade police net. But the true fact is that even if the police were with sophisticated trainings, strategies, arms and IT facilities, and laws were up-to-date, it would not be possible to curb the criminality to an extent greater than that is now done. Because the actual problems causing repeated failure of police and destroying all the positive efforts are
elsewhere. Among those problems, at least three can be mentioned as root causes. Firstly, political interference; secondly, lack of human rights education; and finally, lack of moral education and patriotic feelings.
It is undisputed that major portion of criminals are involved with any of the political parties of the country. Though we may not be able to produce evidence in every case, but we have experienced that almost 100% cases, where party men are connected, are more or less influenced by political parties or leaders. This is the very political influence, not the lack of strategy or training in police, which hampers the proper investigation of crimes in most
cases.
When due to this political influence some criminals are getting immunity from trial by discarding their names form charge sheets, the opposite scenarios are also frequent. Unfortunately in some cases, the accused persons, not proved criminals, face illegal and inhuman treatments at the inquiry, investigation or remand stage. This is the place, where there is a thread of causes. Police many times forget that 'accused' and 'convict' do not possess the same meaning. A very very innocent person may be implicated in a crime or crimes. But, regrettably, experiences show that whenever police get an accused,
they begin to treat him or her as criminal and start to use all possible measures including worst type of mental and physical torture to extract evidence or information.
But what is logical is that if police do not keep some clear and unambiguous evidence or authentic information of the accused's being involved in the crimes, the accused should not be put under any torture just for digging out information. Even if one is found evidently to be linked with any crime, police should not use excessive force or any tortuous way to pull out more information. Because, with the exception in certain cases, the information extracted forcefully by the police are not accepted in the court of law.
Police, therefore, should be well taught the extent of their power and procedures for investigation, enquiry or remand. The tendency of a fraction of enthusiastic police to prove by hook or by crook an accused a criminal must be put an end to. Most importantly, police should be educated that their duty is not only to explore criminal activities of the accused, but also to help the accused to get justice in the court of law. Hence, all out caution should be taken so that in no way police violate the human rights and specifically the right to get justice of the suspect or accused.
After the political influence and procedural pitfalls comes corruption in the police department. Shamefully, the police whose job is to make people obey the law and to prevent and solve crime is one of the topmost corrupt organisation in the country. Situation proves worse when we see the policemen become entangled with the criminal activities. However, corruption in the police department should not be treated separately. As a matter of
fact, corruption has become an overwhelming social problem. Every section of our society has been hit by corruption. Police department understandably was not able to resist it.
There may be differing opinions as to causes of corruption. But certainly the lack of morality in society is the central cause. Morality connotes the principle concerning right and wrong or good and bad behaviour. No doubt, morality develops in a society through religious education. In fact, every religion is based on some moralities practice of those keeps the society healthy. For example, if a Muslim strongly believes in the core lesson of Islam that one day every person will be accountable to God for his/ her every action, or that patriotism is a part and parcel of one's belief (imaan) in Islam, he can never indulge in corruption.
Here comes a question that apparently the western society is not so much religious minded, rather they seem somewhat oblivious of religious activities; then what is the force that keeps them corruption-free? Yes, this is the Patriotism the feelings and love for one's own country and the willingness to defend it against anything bad. Unfortunately, there is scarcity of this patriotic feeling in our whole society, where the police are a dominant part.
It is finally suggested that whatever be the reform plan, the concerned authority must pay an earnest thought on the abovementioned matters.
The author is a legal researcher who is currently working for Development through Access to Network Resources, Dhaka.