Draft police ordinance waits home ministry clearance

A draft regulation aimed at changes to make the police administration more people-friendly is waiting for clearance at the home ministry for months on end. The ministry says the draft of the ordinance styled "Bangladesh Police Ordinance-2007", would be placed before the inter-ministerial meeting after a review.

bdnews24.com
Published : 11 Jan 2008, 10:07 AM
Updated : 11 Jan 2008, 10:07 AM
Dhaka, Jan 11 (bdnews24.com) – A draft regulation aimed at changes to make the police administration more people-friendly is waiting for clearance at the home ministry for months on end.
The ministry says the draft of the ordinance styled "Bangladesh Police Ordinance-2007", would be placed before the inter-ministerial meeting after a review.
But nobody knows when it will get through.
bdnews24.com correspondent Abu Noman Sajib has details.
Former police chief ASM Shahjahan led a committee to prepare the draft in 2007. The committee submitted the report to the ministry about six months ago.
Later the Police Headquarters asked the committee to prepare the report in Bangla since the previous one was in English.
The committee later translated it in Bangla and submitted it to the authorities about one and a half months ago.
The draft mainly envisages formation of an 11-member National Police Commission, a five-member Police Complaints Cell and a Police Tribunal to fast-track trial of any accused police official.
It also recommends provisions for punishing the people who influence the police department.
It has suggested ways to keep the police administration free from political intervention.
The work on the police reforms started in 2005 under a project, Police Reforms Programme (PRP) with the assistance of the UNDP, USAID and the European Commission. The deadline of the $1.60 crore project is Dec this year.
On why the draft has been stuck in the ministry, Shahjahan last week told bdnews24.com: "I don't think it has been stuck. The ministry will scrutinise it. Consultation with other ministries and departments on the draft is also needed. The whole process may take some time."
PRP director Nobo Bikram Kishore Tripura said: "The home ministry will send the draft to the law ministry after scrutiny. The law ministry will send it to the council of advisers after examinations. If it gets approval from the cabinet it would be issued as an ordinance."
He said the programme is an important one to make the department, riddled with corruption, people-friendly.
He said the department still runs its activities with laws installed during the British colonial regime that used the department to suppress all anti-British movement.
"Since the department follows laws enacted in 1861, it is obstructing efforts to make the present day police friendly. The police department has failed to fulfil the expectations of a democratic society because of this," he explained.
"India and Pakistan have upgraded the laws made during the British colonial regime. Bangladesh also needs to do so. Otherwise, our police will continue to lag behind," he said.
Hubert Staberhofer, programme manager of the PRP, said he was hopeful that once the draft became a law the department would move forward to become a disciplined organ of the state.
Home secretary Abdul Karim also sad he did not think they were taking too much time to approve the draft.
"We need to examine the draft and discuss the matter with relevant ministries and departments. We will soon sit at an inter-ministerial meeting to discuss the draft," Karim said.
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