Problems of Bangladesh Police:
Firstly, existing police structure and the laws relating to policing were established by the British rulers and these require comprehensive review. We require a new Police Act, which will focus professional aspect of crime control and clearly define police role and responsibility. The new Act needs to ensure police professionalism, accountability and modern police management, the proper functioning of which seeks to improve human security and access to justice. It will provide the basis for establishing police as a people-friendly, service-oriented organization, which will be monitored by police-public consultative committees.
Secondly, the police of lower ranks particularly the constables, Nayeks and low ranking police officers, do not possess substantial educational and intellectual attainments. Their treatment and exposure to the general people is very arrogant and frightening.
Thirdly, the police forces do not get sufficient human rights training. This limitation, together with motivational inadequacy, has made the police force frequently using force and threat. Frequent allegations of custodial torture, sexual harassment of arrested women, custodial death, and other human rights violations indicate that police officials need more and more human rights training.
Fourthly, salary given to the police officers and constables is insufficient. Police officers and constables work 13-18 hours a day, which is almost double than the working hours of the government employees of other professions. On an average officer in charge (O.C.) of a metropolitan police station works 18 hours a day, an O.C. of district and thana level works 15 hours. But their salary is not sufficient to their serving 13-18 hours. Though they serve extra hours, but they do not get any remuneration for that.
Fifthly, police is always confronted with the problem of inadequate logistic support. On an average 5-6 police staffs sit in each room of a police station. In most of the police stations there is no room for conference or meeting. Police stations of districts and thanas have no prison van. Malkhanas of metropolitan and district police stations are narrow and unhygienic. The toilet facilities of police stations are insufficient. The police stations are not provided with sufficient number of vehicles and necessary furniture. Police officials require modern and light arms for expected crime control, but they are not sufficiently armed. Criminals, on the other hand, are using modern arms like Chinese rifle, AK-47 rifle, SMG, and LMG.
Sixthly, police is the only state agency to investigate criminal cases, the outcome of which may come out as charge-sheet for the prosecution or final report for release of the accused. This reality places police in an advantageous situation which they can manipulate and they do it extensively for their personal gain. There is no authority to monitor the investigating activities of police. In the absence of a supervising authority police officers easily include or delete names from the charge-sheet, or give final report where charge-sheet should be given, or vice versa.
Seventhly, police officers do not get sufficient time for controlling crime and investigating criminal cases. On an average every Sub-Inspector of district police stations has to investigate 7.5 cases in a month, Sub-Inspector of thana police stations 4 cases. They do these investigative activities in an addition to other duties, so police officers remain reluctant to take up new cases. According to a Transparency International Working Paper, metropolitan police spend 40.6% time of a month for keeping law and order, 32.7% time for ensuring the security of VIPs, and 18.4% time for works relating to criminal cases. Police officers of districts and thanas take half of the time of a month for securing the VIPs.
Eighth, government uses the police as a branch of its political organization and suppresses often the rightful activities of opposition political parties. Extensive political use of police force hinders the development of professionalism, as a result less qualified and dishonest police officers are placed in important positions, and the people remain deprived of the service of honest and sincere police officers. Because of excessive political use, police has no chain of command.
Ninth, the police are frequently accused of being involved in drug dealing and addiction. According to the police headquarters reports, 542 cops, including 15 officers, were dismissed between January 2012 and September 2017 while 3,987 others were given ‘hard’ punishment and 73, 324 others were given ‘soft’ punishment in the past five years for getting involved in criminal activities.