Preparing police for emerging law and order challenges

In response to media reports that the number of serious crimes including murder, robbery, Law and Order Disruption (Speedy Trial) Act offences, rioting and so on, surged during the last 13 months since the interim government assumed office on August 5, 2024, the Chief Adviser (CA)'s Press wing has come up with an explainer. Analysing the data on crimes committed between 2020 and August 2025, it says, the apparent rise in the number of murders, for instance, has been due to the fact that the cases against serious crimes that could not be filed during the previous authoritarian regime due both to non-cooperation of the police and/or threats from political goons of that time are now being filed. The CA's Press Wing elucidates that cases against 1,130 murders committed during the previous autocratic regime of Sheikh Hasina have been lodged during the time under scrutiny. This gives, according to the Press wing, the impression that there has been a rise in the incidence of crime during the interim government.
There is no denying that citizens unlike during the autocratic regime now feel more encouraged to approach the police and lodge complaints against crimes committed both in the past and during the recent months. But questions still remain. For lawsuits filed against murder, robbery, abduction and rape during the past one year have indeed seen a sharp rise compared to the previous year. Notably, the Inspector General of Police, Mohammad Baharul Islam, too, recently admitted to the media that the police are yet to regain their control following last year's traumatic experience in the wake of the political upheaval. He even went on so far as to admit that the police might not have been successful in dealing with even 50 per cent of the criminal incidents. Such frank admission from the head of the police points only to the gravity of the law and order situation obtaining in the country now.
Undeniably, the post-July 24 uprising has made a dent in the morale of the police force that was evident from its lackadaisical attitude towards handling street violence and incidents of organised crime committed during the past 13 months of the interim government. In fact, data from the Police Headquarters (PHQ) presented a grim picture of violent crimes including mob violence in the first six months of 2025. Incidentally, many of these instances of violent crime were caught on camera and widely shared on the social media creating resentments as well as fear and a sense of insecurity among the general public. The question is, while members of the general public understand the many limitations of the incumbent interim government and the law enforcement agency that it runs, they still want to see some positive results. They waited during past one year with patience.
Now with only a few months left in the run up to the 13th parliamentary election scheduled to be held in February next year, there is the fear of further worsening of the law and order situation. In that case, at least for the sake of the next general election to be held smoothly, the law enforcement department should have the necessary preparedness to combat the rising spate of violence and crime in the coming days. Therefore, the interim government will be required to step up its efforts to strengthen the capacity and efficiency of the law enforcement department so it might prove itself up to the task and effectively deal with the emerging law and order challenges before and during the election.