Community policing

For their effective functioning anywhere in the world, the police personnel require rapport with the ones whom they serve. Policemen are found working in social settings where they are not expected to try and do their professional work with a gruff or alienated mentality. The targets of policemen usually are also parts of a society where the majority of its members can be counted as law abiding or having an interest in effective policing activities for their safety and well-being in different respects. Therefore, the police can count on the cooperation of the preponderant law-abiding members of society to help them to identify and inform about crime-prone elements and unlawful activities.
But this cooperation for the police is extended where they enjoy the confidence of the people. Recently, a number of steps have been taken by the present caretaker government and a few more are in the offing, to reform the functioning of the police force. None would claim here that such measures or actions have removed all misgivings about the police force. But it will also be unfair not to note here that the operational efficiency of the police force has shown some positive improvements in the recent times, reflecting a greater degree of sensitivity on the part of the police personnel than before, to the needs of the people. A great deal more must be done to help sustain people's confidence on the police, thus further developing, and consolidating improvements in, police-people relationship. The blooming of such a relationship should be of immense help to the police force in carrying out their professional tasks.
In this context, it has to be pointed out that the concept of community policing is a relatively new one in Bangladesh. But it is a well established system in many countries including the developed ones where the same is noted to be working with much effect. The system basically relies on the concept that police essentially have a role in the community and it must get the wholehearted cooperation of the community which it serves to attain success in its performance. More significantly, the aim of the system is to get the community involved in the functioning of the police. Community policing has been attempted successfully as test cases in some municipal wards in Bangladesh which only goes to show that the potential is there for its countrywide application. Presently, where community policing has been tried, the Chairman and members of the wards have been brought under a close liaison relationship with the local police stations. Under this framework, dependable and uncontroversially accepted persons in the locality noted for their integrity of character, have been also brought under a similar relationship with the police. They meet regularly to discuss law and order problems in the area, get feedbacks about police's performance and provide information on the whereabouts of all sorts of local criminals. Thus, from getting such information and supports, police are able to do their work with efficiency. They can be proactive in preventing crimes before their happening and watch over the likely law breakers closely.
Thus, the community policing approach appears to have much potential for Bangladesh where policing activities have long suffered from a negative view of the police held by people in general. This potential can be realised better by expanding the scope of this approach through the on-going reform programme concerning the police. Such an expansion will lead to substantial improvement in the citizen's perception about the police being a friendly authority to whom the people can have ready access for taking actions against crime and criminals. The spread of the community policing methods can, thus, be mutually beneficial for both the people and the police. As such, its expansion needs to be seriously considered.