Community policing is not yet an effective 'law and order maintenance' activity in Bangladesh. The concept of this law and order-related function was applied in the early 1990s, thanks to the initiatives by some police officials. A force of sorts called 'community police' is now in operation in Dhaka, Chittagong and a few districts.
Some young men are occasionally seen helping the overburdened traffic police in the discharge of their duties in the capital. Apart from this, the community policing as a service is conspicuous in Dhaka by its absence.
The idea of this law enforcement apparatus has its roots in Japan. It was conceived in 1874. The Japanese Koban force eventually began to be replicated across the world much later. Seeing its successful operation in the Japanese cities, a number of US states introduced it in the 1980s.
The UK, Italy, France, Germany, Switzerland and Sweden followed suit. A few Indian states and some developing countries have this service in operation.
Keeping the deteriorating law and order in perspective, few can dispute the urgency of making the community policing effective. Conceptually, people in this service are required to be imbued with volunteerism.
This scenario prevails in Bangladesh too.
Community policing has started its journey in two police stations in Dhaka and the Mymensingh district. Dhaka Metropolitan Police played the dominant role in its formation. The force was initially known as Town Defence Party.
However, a nation accustomed to watching fully uniformed police as the only source of law and order-related power for ages, community law enforcers face troubles winning people's trust. But the prevailing reality demands strong and effective community policing.
Besides the normal task of maintaining law and order, the auxiliary policing people could be engaged in keeping watch on criminals.
They can gather information about anti-social elements involved in illegal activities like drug abuse, smuggling, arms dealing as well as potential sources of violence. Community policing can also be put to use in crime control and intelligence gathering.
Putting specially uniformed personnel from this service on patrol in the community neighbourhoods could be another area of work.
In the country's rural areas, the mainly government-initiated force called Village Defence Party (VDP) is currently all but ineffectual. They lack the expected logistical strength and agility.
The vast rural Bangladesh needs community policing, like that in the cities. Community policing can be put in place as a deterrent force in villages. But it may also entail problems.
The clash over power sharing between the elected members of local government bodies and the community-based persons leading the policing is one of them.
These complexities have to be removed before the introduction of the service in the rural areas.
shihabskr@ymail.com
Why we need strong community policing
Shihab Sarkar | Published: April 07, 2015 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00
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