Changes the police need, and not just uniforms!

Debate grows over priorities as calls mount for deeper police reforms

After the general elections, there has reportedly been a rumble of discontentment over the change of the police uniform carried out during the interim government.

It’s believed that the new uniform did not go down well with the members of the law enforcers.

Reportedly, the material used is not comfortable while the colour combination is found to be similar to the uniforms worn by members of private security companies.

Is that a slight demeaning of members of security service providers?

Be that as it may, the first question that bothers: whether in a time of austerity, economic turbulence, global strife and belt tightening, another round of change is feasible or not.

While on one hand, general people are urged to be accustomed to a thrifty style of living, on the other, the plan to change the wardrobe of the law enforcers will certainly involve a large expenditure.

From reports, we find that for the change during the interim period, the cost was Tk 760 million.

Certainly, not peanuts!

That the law enforcers must undergo a series of changes to make the force more people friendly is a given.

Bangladesh introduces new police uniform in phased distribution

Most citizens will agree that the police must be allowed to operate with minimum political influence and, in the case of aberrations like bribery, graft and sharp practice, the response from the top needs to be swift and firm.

An institution which is determined to give at least 80 percent service to the common person, is the expectation of most common citizens.

No one wants or expects a completely spotless police, because that’s impossible.

Ask any person, the answer will be the same.

Several countries that have backed us and may support future police reforms have forces tainted by racism, sexual exploitation, entrenched prejudice and corruption.

The idea of a perfect police force is a fallacy!

And the fact remains, no external force can help trigger a change unless there’s a genuine desire to change.

You can take a horse to the water, but you can’t make it drink!

One is not sure how another change of uniform within a short time frame will be justified by the authority but since the debate about having a pro-people police force has been a key topic for some time, certain new additions may be given serious thought.

A Special Psychiatric Cell at All Police Stations

With the disconcerting rise of suicides among the young plus sexual abuse, ranging from the blatant to the subtle, the presence of a psychiatric cell with specialists plus trained law enforcers is crucial.

The crimes in current times often cannot be defined in black and white.

Modern day offences have become complex, involving many sub layers; therefore, to understand these imponderables, the approach needs to vary from the traditional “round up the usual suspects”.

This cell can also be held accountable for dealing with issues of domestic abuse, mistreatment of animals plus other acts of depravity aimed to torment general citizens.

If international bodies are keen to help in the reform process, they can support the setting up of a few pilot cells to see how they operate and are received by the masses.

To tackle the deadly trend of teen suicides, menace of teen gangs, there cannot be any alternative to such a cell, comments, Faizul Bari, a social observer, adding: “Setting up the cell and then advertising it on social media will help many young people to at least look for some hope when the whole world seems meaningless and dark.”

Such a cell can be instrumental in carrying out constructive counselling regarding academic grades, the overwhelming social pressure to excel leading to deadly consequences, dark, sordid sides of teen romance, bullying plus a range of other urban afflictions that plague the modern-day youth and the mature.

The Police Citizen Tête-à-Tête

There have been numerous reforms in the past carried out with foreign funds although before Aug 5, 2024, it became clear that whatever the reform efforts, the result was nil and the force only became a tool of suppression.

Anyway, what is essential is a police-citizen open discussion as to what the people want from law enforcers and how they plan to address the demands.

There needs to be a series of open dialogues, involving police, civil society and the young where overall social protection and its dimensions will be discussed.

As a follow up, police stations need to organise civil society interaction sessions which, in the long run, will ensure accountability.

This brings us back to the old debate about setting up an independent commission to oversee police operations.

Again, if international partners are so eager to help in reforms, they should assist the government in setting up such a commission, featuring members of academia, media, defence and police.

Bizarrely, one has always noticed that in almost all accountability related commissions, which are in operation or, have been proposed, media presence is never mentioned or, deliberately ignored.

It’s only when media is included that a commission will get some degree of public acceptance, asserts Faizul.

Admittedly, the media is not spotless and due to the pervasive crony culture of the past, has become somewhat tainted, but at the end of the day, those who maintained objectivity even in the face of pressure and cajolery, maintain the public trust, he observed.

Commenting on the need to include the media in commissions formed for oversight, Shahnoor Karim, a former journalist, maintains that when media members for such commissions are picked, the authority should look at the media entities which never blatantly flew a political flag.

Before an international body plans to assist in making institutions more transparent and effective, they need to interact with the general people, media and the civil society to find out the areas which need changes first, observed Abdus Sattar, a lawyer.

The majority of transformations are aimed at making lives better for the public, but strangely, in seeking opinion about required changes to a public institution, the voices of the general people are often missing, he lamented.

At this moment, with uniform change becoming a talking point, how about launching an opinion poll asking the general people to say if they want a change or not, said Arpita Chowhan, a Dhaka University student.

After all, police and all other government institutions are here to serve the masses and therefore, the opinion of the general people should be the deciding factor, she added.

Also, overall social benefits for such a change should be highlighted, observed Sudipta Hasan, a student, adding: “A step involving a huge cost taken just to please one side does not appear to be rational, especially when the global economy is facing convulsions.”

There seems to be logic in her observation!

What say you?

[Towheed Feroze is a former journalist.]