Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) Chairman Prof Muzaffer .Ahmad yesterday said decentralisation of power in police administration and reform in the existing police act should be considered in reforming Bangladesh police and making them popular.

Speaking as die chief guest at a roundtable on 'Reforming Bangladesh police,' the TIB chief suggested appointing an ombudsman for police and creating six posts of inspector generals (IGs) for six divisional headquarters.

"We should concentrate more on our internal securin' dian external and for that we need to make the police more effective and efficient. Decentralisation of power in the police administration can ensure effectiveness of police and make die security force more popular,” he added.

The roundtable was organised by Department of Criminology and Police Science of Maulana Bhasani Science and "technology University at the conference room of Development Studies department at Dhaka University (DU).

The TIB chairman said infrastructure in the police stations is also very' poor and called for presiding more facilities for the police administration and changes in their salary structure to make the force corruption free.

“The police should be made pro-people force and they should be given quality education by modern-

ising the police staff college and even they could be sent abroad for higher training,” Prof Muzaffer added.

Ue also called for removing all kinds of political interference in the police administration and reducing responsibilities from their shoulders.

Quoting a research report, Dr Ferdous Jahan, associate prof of Public Administration department at DU said Rab personnel have become most popular in the country than police, because the elite force gets more facilities than those of the police.

Prof Mahfuzul Islam Khandaker of the department of Criminal Justice at Kutztown University in the US suggested conducting total reforms in politics, society and economy of

the country.

He further said police should be sent abroad for higher training and capacity building as they lack proper education. He also suggested for reviewing the salary structure of police and urged the government for getting rid of'crossfire' culture.

Former inspector general of police Muhammad Nurul Huda called for reviewing and reforming the existing police act and changing the salary structure of police.

Associate prof Muhammad Bin Kashem of Sociology department at National University, NSI Director Muhammad Nazibul Islam and Prof KAM Saaduddin also spoke at the meeting which was moderated by Brae University Pro fMImdadul Haque.