Speakers call for urgent reform to create public-friendly policing

Speakers at a discussion stressed the urgent need for structural and cultural changes within the police force, aiming to create a more public-friendly and efficient force, reports UNB.

A discussion titled "Why Has the Police Force Not Become Public-Friendly Even After 53 Years? Police Reform: Why? Which Path?" was organised by human rights organisation 'Humanity Foundation' at the SIRDAP Auditorium on Saturday.

Zakia Shishir, a relative of Mir Mughdho, a martyr of July-August movement, said, "We constantly hear about the bad behavior of police. But why is it bad? We've been hearing this for 53 years. Has there been any research on it within the police? We need to focus on these areas. We want public-friendly police."

Syed Abdullah, a former law student at Dhaka University and an online activist, said, "The amount of bribery one has to pay to join the police force is huge.

Once they get the job, they want to recover that money. If the practice of bribery is not stopped at the time of recruitment, there will always be a tendency to extort money later."

Abdul Mannan, a former sub-inspector of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP), said "I worked as a sub-inspector in the DMP, and the amount of hardship we go through makes us want a separate quota for ourselves. "