Rebranding our close sentinels

To perform the duties of a police properly is a very difficult job. Though, in theory, members of our police force are expected to accomplish this tough task, the reality is altogether different.
During the British era in the subcontinent, the police personnel were groomed and trained to serve the colonial powers, not the people.
When Indian subcontinent became independent and split into two independent countries, democracy became the mode of governance, replacing the colonial system.
So, it was expected that the police would be pro-people. But during the Pakistan era, the then East Pakistan became a colony of West Pakistan and the police behaved like a colonial force.
After the independence, from 1971 to 1991, Bangladesh experienced a regimented type of governance, masked by both one-party and military rules.
Thus, the police force was never given the scope to be an ideal one, suitable for democratic society.
When real multi-party democracy started after 1991, there were expectations that a standard police force will emerge. But having a long legacy of serving the undemocratic rulers, five years were not enough to turn this force into a standard one.
From 1996 to 2006, during the successive rules of the Awami League and the BNP, politicisation of the police force started and during the last 15 years it reached its peak.
Autocratic rulers had compelled the police to be loyal and, thus, realize their goals. But when the democratic rulers started appointing and promoting police on political consideration, they started to lose their professionalism.
This situation aggravated beyond tolerable level. The police were used as the prime tool to manipulate the general elections from 2014 to 2024.
Stuffing ballot boxes by police personnel before the election day became an example of tainted polls worldwide. The unauthorised use of police for remaining in power had given rise to a sense of extra authority.
The police instead of becoming people's police started to serve the interest of the few people in power.
And then to ensure promotion, and good posting, many police personnel started openly campaigning for ruling party. Some of them crossed the limit.
The murder of an ex-army officer by the OC of Cox's Bazar is an ideal example of how reckless a section of the police had become to satisfy their greed.
In the last ten years, police were frequently used by the ruling party for political purposes. The deadly violence where police killed hundreds of students and people is a glaring example.
Definitely, there are a good number of honest policemen in our police force but when corruption and lawlessness rules the roost within a law enforcing agency its functioning as an institution is bound to be degraded.
And exactly that has happened. The result is the loss of image of the entire force.
A massive overhauling and rebranding is a must for the police to make it a truly people's force.
To make the force trustworthy introduction of professionalism in the force is crucial and it should be done in every sphere, from recruitment to promotion.

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