Mohammad Jamil Khan

Bangladesh Police will be introducing tactical belts for officials involved in operational duty and patrols, as part of its efforts to better equip the force and make the policing system more efficient.

Once introduced, police officials will no longer need to carry objects like guns, batons, handcuffs and wireless handsets in their hands, said officials of Police Headquarters (PHQ).

“We have almost completed necessary processes to distribute the tactical belts. We plan to distribute them on December 16,” Tawfique Mahbub Chowdhury, deputy inspector general (logistics) of PHQ, told The Daily Star.

Made of nylon and polyester, a belt will have six chambers where a small water bottle, wireless set, POS machine for traffic fines, torch, collapsible baton and handcuffs can be kept. A small thigh belt will be attached with the tactical belt to hold the gun, said officials of PHQ’s equipment section.

The officials hinted at some more changes to come in the force. For example, every member, ranking from constable to sub-inspector, who will take part in operations or patrols, will only use pistols instead of large firearms.

The provision of using large firearms by operation forces or patrol teams will be abolished, they said.

The belts will initially be provided to operation and patrol teams of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) and Chattogram Metropolitan Police (CMP). Later, they will be distributed among all other police unit members across the country in phases, said sources.

A high-official of PHQ, requesting anonymity, said they have already prepared around 10,000 belts, out of which, around 7,000 will be given to DMP and 3,000 to CMP.

Shafiqul Islam, commissioner of DMP, said the belts will make the force members more efficient and speed up their working capacity.

Inspector General of Police (IGP) Benazir Ahmed has taken the initiative so officers do not need to carry objects in their hands during time of operation.

HANDS FREE FOR DUTY

Another high-official of PHQ, requesting anonymity, said there will even be a headphone attached to the wireless handset, so they can hear every update, and a mic on their shirt’s collar to send messages.

During operations, they will be able to swiftly take their gun out from the thigh holster, and use their left hand to take the handcuffs out from the belt, said the official.

As police officials remain on the street round the clock, they will now be able to carry water bottles using the belts.

Beside officials involved in foot, mobile and police station patrols -- the belts will also be provided to officials involved with traffic control, said PHQ officials.

Police officials in developed countries also use such belts, said another high-official of PHQ.

“We are planning to provide digital sticks to officers involved in traffic duty along with the belt. The sticks will light up, showing the ‘stop sign’…” he said.

In future, a body-worn camera system will be integrated with the belts, and high-officials will be able to connect with the operation team directly and see live updates through the cameras, said an official, requesting anonymity.

Made of nylon and polyester, a belt will have six chambers where a small water bottle, wireless set, POS machine for traffic fines, torch, collapsible baton and handcuffs can be kept.