Md. Fardin Labib*
ABSTRACT
This paper critically looks into the challenges facing the Bangladesh police force in the aftermath of the anti-discrimination movement 2024, which involved a breakdown in public trust and placed a severe strain on law enforcement. The paper will work toward providing some recommendations that reform the police force and can help restore public confidence in the police, introduce further accountability, and help prevent any future abuse of the police by a government or any influential figure.
Key Words Police; authoritarian; accountability; public; trust; community; politicize; transparency.
The police force of any country is set up for the service of its citizens – to protect them in times of danger. Ideally, the police should cooperate with the public for better improvement of the country and to help create a sense of security amongst the people rather than fear. In Bangladesh, too, the expectation of its people from their police is to act as protectors. However, in the last 15 years, this police force turned into ruthless enforcers of an increasingly authoritarian government by committing many acts which violated human rights which resulted in people viewing the police as a symbol of oppression. It reached its height in July 2024 when police were deployed with full force against the students and the general public who launched protests which started off as protests to demand reform in quota systems later becoming a larger movement of people demanding the resignation of the Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League government. During this period, the police used live ammunition, rubber bullets, and tear gas against unarmed protesters to silence the movement and bar them from pushing the ruling party from power. But the protests gained momentum and took a toll on the eventual fall of the Awami League government. After this, due to the police being involved in the killings and violence during the movement, these motives served as the catalyst for nationwide attacks by mobs against police personnel and police stations. A report on bdnews24 dated 7 August 2024 revealed the breakdown of the rule of law in Bangladesh when the government of Sheikh Hasina was no longer in power where many senior officials and officers had gone into hiding to avoid retaliation. As a result, many police stations remained empty and unguarded, showing the scenario of unrest which marked a severe deterioration in the level of trust between people and the police and the repercussions of using the police as a political tool. Another report by The Daily Star speculated that “nearly 700–800 officers, including some cadre officers, were absent without leave.” The report also stated that, “amid this situation, the law enforcers hardly venture outside their stations when not escorted by army personnel, especially after dark. Their services have remained largely limited to registering complaints and cases. But people are not getting the police services after calling the number because the police stations do not have enough police personnel and logistic support.”
This paper will provide some recommendations by looking into the police force of other countries and how they operate to solve critical issues such as gaining public trust, ensuring accountability and transparency of the police officers, and depoliticizing the police force so that future governments or political parties cannot use the police force in a way that the previous government did.
A survey conducted by Transparency International Bangladesh in 2021, which covered 15,840 households, depicted alarming levels of corruption within the country’s law enforcement agencies, particularly police and Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) forces. It found that as high as 70.9% of the households reported having experienced some form of corruption, while 74.4% said they had been victimized by corrupt practices of the law enforcement agencies. These findings suggest that corruption in the law enforcement sector of Bangladesh is systemic and acts as a severe impediment to governance, public trust, and the rule of law. Apprehensions are further substantiated by the U.S. Department of State’s 2022 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, which reported impunity for abuses committed by security forces. These abuses included extrajudicial killings, forced disappearances, and suppression of peaceful assembly and association. The report criticized the government for failing to take adequate measures to investigate, prosecute, or otherwise hold accountable officials and security personnel implicated in these abuses or in corrupt activities. Human rights groups have faulted the government for promoting a culture of impunity, which has been eating away at the rule of law and citizens’ rights bit by bit. Domestic human rights organizations have documented scores of abuses committed by the police; for example, Ain o Salish Kendra reported that 19 people died in extrajudicial killings or in custody in 2022. Of them, four died in so-called “crossfire” with the law enforcement agencies, and eight died due to physical torture before or during custody. Such incidents indicate that excessive force and unlawful means on the part of the security personnel are commonplace. The Centre for Governance Studies, through a detailed analysis of extrajudicial killings between 2019 and 2021, has implicated police forces, specifically the Detective Branch, at 51.2%, while RAB was implicated in 28.8%. This again proves that disproportionate and egregious human rights abuses take place on the part of law enforcement agencies, and thus confidence level at the general public level in those agencies is unprecedentedly low. It also gives notice that the killings are not some sort of isolated accident but rather part of a general strategy of control within the state, often against people perceived to be political dissidents or threats to the existing power structure. Reports by international bodies and organizations further reinforce the gravity of the situation. The United Nations Committee Against Torture, along with several advocacy groups, has criticized the rampant practice of torture perpetrated by security forces in Bangladesh. Documented allegations include beatings with iron rods, electric shocks, kneecappings, rape, sexual abuse, and mock executions, and these practices are sometimes inflicted on suspected militants or members of opposition parties in order to elicit information. Besides this, torture has been executed with the purpose of extorting bribes and confessions, which in many instances has caused death. In 2023, Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Organization passed its comments on the prevalence of torture and humiliating treatment at the hands of Bangladeshi police forces. It insisted on permanent impunity by the government for failing to take proper measures against security personnel who commit such crimes. There have been widespread reports on the use of security forces to muzzle opposition leaders, government critics, and dissidents, suggesting that law enforcement agencies are used not only in maintaining law and order but also as an instrument of political repression.
This paper relies on secondary data to develop recommendations for the reform of the Bangladesh police force. Materials have been widely researched from newspapers, academic articles, journals, and public forums to determine which issues the police force face the most. From the careful examination of these materials, this paper hopes to underline the challenges and recommend practical ways through which they can be addressed.
This section presents a set of recommendations derived from an in-depth examination of policing systems of various countries and proposing the most effective strategies that can be adopted to address the issues seen within the Bangladesh police force.
In a case of Denmark on mechanisms addressing human right violations by police officers, Amnesty International (2008) proposed some recommendations for investigating and acting on complaints against the police.
Addressing political corruption within law enforcement requires a comprehensive approach that considers broader systemic issues and the intricate social and political dynamics of a country. To render the police as politically neutral, USAID advocates for a more extensive mechanism to ensure external accountability and to keep the policing activities quite independent from political executives. Countries like the UK and Japan have attained such neutrality by creating a cushion between political expediency and laws that are enforced. The Public Safety Commission System in Japan plays an important role in maintaining the separation between police operations and political influence. They include independent commissions for public safety at the national and prefectural levels, which are charged with supervising the administration of police forces in their respective jurisdictions. Commissions have been designed to remove police operations from ruling party interference as well as other political pressures. In one word, these commissions insulate law enforcement from the immediate influences of political power and help keep police work honest and straightforward. The creation of specialized oversight bodies is especially recommended in the case where internal controls are failing and the police lack the will, resources, and capacity to exercise these controls effectively.
In many developing countries grappling with high levels of police corruption, particularly those emerging from conflict, a major challenge in police reform is rebuilding public trust and establishing the legitimacy of law enforcement institutions. In these contexts, police officers are often viewed as a source of fear rather than protection, making it essential to implement strategies that foster collaboration between the police and the community.
According to Finn (2001) in Citizen Review of Police: Approaches and Implementation, many U.S. communities involve residents in overseeing their local police departments through citizen oversight, a system designed to ensure police accountability. While there is no universal model, citizen oversight systems generally fall into four categories as follows:
In this report, Citizens have reported that they
Police and sheriff’s department administrators have reported that citizen oversight
Experience testifies that, if law enforcement officers faced a genuine risk of losing their jobs, they would have less motivation to involve themselves in corrupt practices. When there is very little chance of losing a vocation as compared to what one can receive from accepting money meant to bribe, many people see no alternative than engaging in bribery. Therefore, police salaries and benefits must be periodically evaluated and adjusted so that the temptation of corruption does not become excessive. In this way, we promote a more accountable and corruption-resistant police force by increasing the cost of unethical behaviour. Moreover, strict disciplinary actions with specified consequences for misconduct may also discourage corrupt practices further still. It is important to create an environment where honesty gets rewards while any wrong doing like bribery attracts severe punishment thus earning public trust and respect among those who confront criminal activities.
None.
The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.
*Department of Criminology, Dhaka University, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Amnesty International. (2008, January 18). Police accountability mechanisms in Denmark. https://www.amnesty.org/en/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/eur180012008eng.pdf
Finn, P. (2001, March). Citizen review of police: Approaches and implementation. National Institute of Justice. https://www.ojp.gov/pdffiles1/nij/184430.pdf
Suggett, J. (2009, April 3). Human rights and police reform in Venezuela: A Venezuelan perspective. Venezuelanalysis. https://venezuelanalysis.com/analysis/4349/
The Business Standard. (2024, September 11). Police call for volunteers to assist in traffic management in Mirpur. https://www.tbsnews.net/bangladesh/police-call-volunteers-assist-traffic-management-mirpur-938746
Correspondence to: Md. Fardin Labib, Department of Criminology, Dhaka University, Dhaka - 1207, Bangladesh. E-mail: fardinlabib10@gmail.com
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Journal of CSWB, VOLUME 10, NUMBER 3, September 2025