Editorial
Delay in police reform is unacceptable
Show cause should be on the home ministry and not the IGP
We are surprised, to say the least, about the show cause notice served on the Inspector General of Police, the highest ranking police official of the country, for speaking out publicly about the delay in police reform, something without which we cannot expect any significant change in police performance.
Successive governments have agreed to the viewpoint and research findings have repeatedly confirmed it that because of outdated regulatory framework dating back from 1861, both legal and operational, it is unable to serve the public in any meaningful way. Over the years it has become a mere extension of the government parties of the day who use the police more to repress the opposition than to prevent crime or ensure public safety. Lack of legal protection from undue political influence and partisan interference have reduced our police force into instruments of power abuse. This has demoralised the police and deprived them of the legitimate pride and job satisfaction that are crucial for any law enforcement body to function properly.
Presently our police operate under a law promulgated 147 year ago. Since then practically no changes have occurred in the law though British ended their colonial rule in 1947 and Pakistan in 1971. Though talks of police reforms have been going on for many years, it is to the credit of the present caretaker government that it took up the issue in earnest and actually drafted a law (ordinance) within months of its assuming office and submitted it to the home ministry for vetting in June 2007, where it lies till date in spite of the CA's special interest in seeing it through quickly.
It is against this inordinate delay that the IGP spoke out, quite mildly at that, the other day. He hinted that the delay was deliberate and was due to the fact that the reforms would hurt some vested interest. We believe that the delay is being caused by a section of the bureaucracy whose arbitrary control and whimsical use (read abuse) of the police would be greatly reduced if the proposed draft is adopted. It is that same section of the bureaucracy that may have instigated the issuance of this show cause notice deliberately distorting the intention of the IGP. We feel that instead of harassing the IGP the ministry would better serve itself, the government and the people of Bangladesh by investigating the cause of the delay and who were responsible for it. In fact the show cause notice should be against the home ministry for delaying a much-needed reform and not against the IGP, who only voiced something that we all feel needed to be said.
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