Police should be developed as people's force: IGP

The police should be developed as a force of the people being inspired with the spirit of July revolution, Inspector General of Police (IGP) Md Mainul Islam said today (16 November).

"We have to develop police as the force of the people taking lesson from the July revolution," he said while speaking as the chief guest at the monthly (October) review meeting of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) at Bangladesh Police Auditorium, Rajarbagh in Dhaka.

At the outset of the meeting, the police chief prayed for the peace of the departed souls of all the martyrs who sacrificed their lives in the student-people uprising and expressed deep condolences to their families.

He also remembered the injured ones and recalled the contribution of police members, who sacrificed their lives in maintaining law and order.

Describing police as an important institution of the state, he said providing services to the people is the main objective of police. "So, the police should be built as a force as desired by the people," he said adding that the police should work as a team to combat crimes.

In this connection, he put emphasis on identifying crime hotspots to maintain law and order. "The citizen committees there should be strengthened and necessary measures should be taken to prevent crime in coordination with them," he said adding, "if any crime occurs, it cannot be hidden."

Sounding a note of caution, he said, "Criminals, whoever they are, should not be spared ... they must be arrested. The police chief asked all concerned to be more careful so that innocent people are not harassed by any means.

Stressing on intelligence-based policing, the IGP said information should be collected in advance regarding theft, robbery, juvenile gangs and other organised crimes and measurers should be taken to prevent those. 

Mentioning that the police station is the center of police services, he said, "People who come to police stations for service should be treated well. The image of the police should be brightened by providing proper service through good behavior."

Referring to Dhaka's traffic congestion, he thanked the DMP Traffic Division for improving the traffic system compared to the past and asked them to take measures for further improvement.

He said there is no alternative to training to enhance the professional skills of the police. Police members at all levels will be provided with regular modern training on various professional subjects, he said.

The IGP listened carefully listened to the various problems and challenges faced by police members of different ranks in conducting police activities at present and assured them of solving them in stages.

Presiding over the meeting, DMP Commissioner Md Mainul Hassan said the DMP is always ready to serve the population of 25 million in Dhaka metropolitan. "We have to work with utmost professionalism to maintain law and order in this metropolitan."

He further said the law and order situation has improved a lot from the situation when he took charge. "This improvement in law and order situation is due to your work. There are challenges in any profession. There are also challenges in the work we do," he said.

He said they have to work towards meeting the challenges that will come in the coming days.

"We have to strengthen police activities so that incidents of theft, robbery, dacoity, banditry and extortion do not occur," he said.

All incidents that occur must be properly investigated and the real criminals brought to justice and crime-prone areas must be identified, he added.

He emphasised on increasing check posts and patrols in crime-prone areas and on engaging with the public.