#Title

Reform imperatives of our police
FILE PHOTO: AFP
The police reform of Bangladesh requires an in-depth examination of the police organisation, its mandate, its functional dynamics. It also highlights the need to establish effective structures to oversee police performance and ensure the realisation of the organisational mission. The reform process has to touch all ranks and be all inclusive, calling for a commitment and sense of purpose from the political executive since what is involved is basically a redetermination of the whole governance paradigm.
Every organisation, whether public or private, can perform well only if it is founded on valid organisational principles. In the case of Bangladesh police, these principles were not followed over the years, resulting in a corrupt, inefficient, and highly politicised force. Increasingly, the police were rendered agents of the political executive rather than instruments of a democratic state. The selective application of law against opponents, whether political or personal, at the behest of influential individuals, became the norm rather than the exception. People perceived the police as agents of the party in power, not as members of an organisation publicly maintained to enforce the rule of law.
The key question relevant to the reform is: what kind of organisation will the police of Bangladesh need to meet the law-and-order challenges of the 21st century? As a first step, the responsibility of maintenance of law and order will need to rest unambiguously with the police. The police hierarchy must be made responsible not only for the organisation and the internal administration of the force but also exclusively for all matters connected with maintaining law and order. In short, policing operations should no longer be subjected to general control and direction from outside the police department.
Steps will be required for rendering the police professionally competent, operationally neutral, functionally cohesive, and organisationally responsible for all its actions. This, in turn, will lead to efficient police operations, better decision-making, improved discipline within the force, and revamped accountability mechanisms. The role, duties, and responsibilities of the police must be orientated to prioritise service function, ensuring that the prevention and detection of crime serve a social purpose. The reform strategy should seek to solicit voluntary support and cooperation of the people.
The sole purpose of the police is to enforce the laws of the land without fear or favour towards anyone. Therefore, it is crucial to render the police politically neutral. Such neutrality has been achieved in other countries by placing the police under apolitical control, thereby creating a buffer between political expediency and law enforcement. Without such a buffer, influential individuals will never allow the police to perform their mandated duties.
Police accountability is a subject of great contemporary significance. The increasingly sophisticated range of coercive, scientific, and technical apparatus at the command of police requires stricter accountability controls. Bangladesh urgently needs statutory commission institutions like the Independent Police Complaints Authority in Britain or the Public Safety Commission system in Japan. The Independent Police Complaint authority in Britain consists of members of civil society and is mandated to inquire into serious complaints against police. One of the most important functions of Japan’s Public Safety Commission System is to ensure that police operations remain uninfluenced by the party in power. The apolitical public safety commissions at national and regional levels are designed to insulate the police from the debilitating effects of political control.
For quite some time, there has been reluctance among senior police officials to recognise the necessity of viewing police forces as organisations fundamentally similar to any other enterprise or business. The police organisation must, therefore, evolve a shared vision and understanding of a common mission increasingly focused on meeting community expectations.
The first order of business is to enact a new police act to replace the present archaic legislation enacted in 1861. This act is weak across almost all parameters that govern democratic police legislation. It has made it easier for others to abuse and misuse the police organisation. People in positions of power have been able to do so because the act grants the government authority to exercise superintendence over the police without defining the term “superintendence” or prescribing guidelines to ensure legitimate use of power. The act does not establish institutional arrangements to insulate the police from undesirable external control, pressures, and influences. It also fails to recognise the government’s responsibility to establish an efficient and effective police force. Furthermore, it does not require the setting of objectives or performance standards, nor does it establish independent mechanisms to monitor and inspect police performance.
The goal should be to establish a police force subject to the rule of law rather than the whims of the party in power. The police should intervene in the lives of citizens only under limited and controlled circumstances and must be held publicly accountable.
Historically, policing in Bangladesh has largely been a one-sided affair, with communities having little to no say in local policing plans and strategies that affect them most. The idea that “police are the people, and people are the police” has not taken root in the region. Unfortunately, the Police Act of 1861 was silent on the issue of community consultation. Instead, it focused on the responsibility of communities to ensure order, with the entire community facing collective punishment if any member stepped out of line.
An inefficient and outdated administrative legacy is undermining reforms supported by numerous national and international expert missions. For too long, the basic functioning of the police has remained unchanged. What is needed is to make improving the quality of law enforcement a permanent and integral part of the national agenda.
An enlightened and determined political leadership, high levels of public support, and a motivated and well-led public sector are critical for change. Equally, if not more importantly, a civil society that demands and supports higher standards of police performance is essential for reform.
The core issue today is not what the police does, but why it does what it does. It is time to make the police work for the people.
Over the last few decades, public opinion leaders have responded to the growing policing crisis with traditional approaches. They have blamed the police officers, protested against abuses of authority and corruption, and levelled criticism at the police without showing the necessary will or support to change its design.
The police reform debate seems to be attracting a wider and more serious audience. These issues are receiving focused and sustained attention in the media. If the goal is to make quality policing a way of life, then we need to begin by restructuring the existing police framework. The police constable must be transformed into a responsible official providing essential services to the community. The existing police setup must be replaced with a system that strives to be customer-friendly. There must be a shared sense of mission and clearly understood organisational goals, as well as citizens’ inclusion in police decision-making processes.