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.
Photo:AFP |
It
is undeniable that the existing training and strategy
for investigation, 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 above-mentioned matters.
The
author is a legal researcher who is currently working
for Development through Access to Network Resources, Dhaka.
