People-police cooperation
Police will have to be proactive in closing gaps
WE fail to understand why the Bangladesh Police Ordinance 2007, an instrument of immense importance, should at all need advocacy for its implementation. With the spectre of crime and criminality not showing any sign of going away soon, we feel the sooner the ordinance is promulgated, the faster the force will become effective in maintaining law and order in the country. It is true that making the instrument effective would also help bridge the gap between the people and the members of the police force, which we believe is vital for removing certain misgivings in the minds of the common people. There is no denying the fact that common people are often subjected to harassment both inside and outside police stations, which at times crosses the boundaries of civility and the concept of human rights.
Much has been talked in the past years by experts about the functioning of the force under an outdated act, namely Police Act 1861, and the imperative of bringing about reforms, especially in areas like recruitment, training, providing required logistics support and promotion on the basis of merit and performance can hardly be overemphasised. Special mention has been made about sensitising the members of the police force about human rights, child rights and women rights from time to time and sending them to various institutions at home and abroad for higher training. The force will have to be given the power to act without any fear or favour during the tenure of a political government, otherwise, the objective of winning the hearts of the people will only remain in the books. It cannot be lost on the government that without spontaneous cooperation of the public no law enforcing agency can deliver what they are expected to.
We strongly believe that the police department will have to become proactive in coming closer to the people and earning their confidence. If the members show respect to the aspects of human rights, as stipulated in the country's constitution, we believe they will have fulfilled their given obligations. We hope the present government will implement the Bangladesh Police Ordinance 2007 at the earliest to make the police a modern and effective crime-fighting force.
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