Public perception about efficiency and accountability: The need for a paradigm shift in Bangladesh police

Abstract

The Bangladesh Police is the major law enforcing agency in our country to control the crime and law and order situation. It’s mission is to uphold the rule of law, ensure safety and security of citizens, detect and prevent crime, bring offenders to justice and maintain peace and order. Yet, society at large has a negative conception about the police. In the case of Bangladesh, this unfavorable impression is hundred percent. The police, itself, also found various problems within them. On the other hand, as the public’s repulsion toward the police intensified, there is an urgent need of an accountable, transparent, and efficient policing service that could ensure the safety and well-being of the citizens. The purpose of this study was to examine public perception about efficiency and accountability: the need for a paradigm shift in Bangladesh police and to identify the factors that affect the efficiency and accountability of Bangladesh police. On the basis of these perceptions, police needs a positive paradigm shift. This is an investigative study to examine the problems faced by the citizens of Bangladesh. A mixture of quantitative and qualitative methods was used for the study. The primary data were the main source of information to get a comprehensive picture of reality. Secondary data were acquired from different sources including news papers, reports, books and journals. I have surveyed Mohadevpur thana at Naogaon district and Ramna thana in Dhaka metropolitan police. The colonial model and democratic policing model were used as a theoretical framework. Based on the experimental evidences, our findings indicate that there are many factors that Bangladesh police have retained the colonial policing model. Most of the respondents believe that Police use excessive force, brutality, discrimination: neglect, indifference, politics, venality etc. These factors indicate Inefficient and unaccountable police system. On the contrary the level of responsiveness, professionalism, integrity, maintenance of law and order, respect the human rights of Bangladesh police does not indicate an efficient and accountable police system. For these reasons, a greater emphasis should be placed on police governance, particularly building professional and honest structures protected from political interference to ensure rule of law and safety and security for the general people.