General People's Perception Towards Police in Bangladesh

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

In modern society, no one can remain above law. All are to live their

lives within the boundaries of law. The police are no exception. The

duty of the police is to instill a sense of security in the ordinary

citizens, and to protect the life and property of the citizens when they

are in danger. If the police fail to perform this duty, they are held

accountable as per the law of the country. In Bangladesh too, there are

both internal and external mechanisms for holding the police

accountable. The internal mechanisms for holding individual police

ocers accountable for their actions are contained in the olice Act of

!"#!. The external mechanisms for ensuring police accountability are

the $udiciary, the %uman &ights 'ommission, human rights ()*s, and

the media.

+nfortunately, in practice, the authority of police leadership in

Bangladesh has eroded over time by political interference, leading to a

loss of discipline in the force and the promotion of a tendency at

dierent levels within the police to see- outside patronage for rewardsand protection against punishment. There are also allegations that

police departments sometimes suppress incidents of misconduct by

individual police ocers because the revelation of the facts could

damage the image of the police force. All these serve as the reasons

for decline in the eectiveness of departmental mechanisms to ensure

police accountability. Though the police authority always claims that

they do punish a good number of police ocers each year for their

wrongdoings, people do not see any visible outcome of such internal

accountability mechanism. ay by day, the incidents of police brutality

and abuse of power are increasing.

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Chapter

!

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Introd"ctio

n

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I#TR$%UCTI$#

This report consist a scenario of General People's Perception

Towards Police. At the beginning, an overview of Bangladesh has

been given. This chapter contains detail about law and order, social

factors and crime in community in Bangladesh . After that come the

de1nition of perception and how an individual $udge has been

discussed. rinciples of modern policing, image of police etc. are also

described in this report.

!&! $riin o( the st"d)

2BA is a professional degree. This degree includes theoretical

-nowledge as well as practical -nowledge. 2a-ing assignment is a part

of practical -nowledge. An assignment is an attempt to provide

business students an orientation to use the -nowledge in real life

business situation in which one can observe and evaluate the use and

applicability of the theoretical concepts, which were taught in class. To

have better understanding and 1nish the syllabus as a partial

re3uirement it is necessary to create a report.

!&* +ac,ro"nd o( the st"d)

Bangladesh olice is the main law enforcement agency of Bangladesh.

It is administered under the 2inistry of %ome Aairs of the

)overnment of Bangladesh. It plays a crucial role in maintaining peace,

and enforcement of law and order within Bangladesh. Though the

police are primarily concerned with the maintenance of law and orderand security of persons and property of individuals, they also play a big

role in the criminal $ustice system.

The views that citizens have about the police are important. These

views can in4uence the degree and type of interaction people have

with the police and the degree of support provided to the police.



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6ithout public support, modern policing is dicult, if not impossible.

ositive views of the police by citizens can lead to a positive

relationship with the police, which can improve the eectiveness of the

police. (egative views can lead to resentment, which can impede the

ability of the police to be eective formal agents of law and order.

olicing views are, therefore, important to explore and understand.

To complete this report, we too- the -nowledge from theoretical

classes and use that with information from an organization. And put

together both information to understand the management and analyze

the organization.

!&- P"rpose o( the report

2BA is a modern sub$ect, and assignment is a part of it. The 1rst and

foremost important ob$ective is to complete this report as a partial

re3uirement of 2BA program.

The main purpose of this report is 1nd out the general people7s

perception towards police in Bangladesh. 6ith this report the main

things we will get are8

9ectiveness of police force

9xamination of public con1dence in the police force

Trust in the police force and views of police civility

)eneral police operations

olice accountability

Aggressive policing and

:upport for the police

!&. Scope o( the report

The main scope of the study is to give a comprehensive idea about

police force in Bangladesh, their duties, responsibilities, their

achievements, their relationship with peoples and others etc.

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!&/ 0i1itations o( the st"d)

Although the report is 1nished, but we faced several problems during

completion of this report. These are8

Time was short, to complete a proper original report.

Because of huge wor- load in professional life we didn


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Chapter *

$3er3iew

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*&! +ea"ti("l +anladesh

Bangladesh, which literally translates to @countryland of Bengal, is a

nation in :outh Asia with an estimated population of more than !#"

million people living in an area the size of Iowa. It is the eighth most

densely populated nation. Approximately "CD of the population is2uslim, with the vast ma$ority being :unni, ma-ing Bangladesh the

third largest 2uslim nation and the second most populous :unni

country. The population of Bangladesh is largely ethnically

homogeneous, with C"D being Bengali. The Bangladesh population is

largely young, poor, and rural. Almost ;ED of the population lives on

one +.:. dollar or less a day. The area of Bangladesh has a long, rich

human history dating bac- thousands and thousands of years. In the

middle !?EEs, the area became part of British India. 6hen India gained

independence in !C5?, the Bangladesh area became part of a-istan,

and then became 9ast a-istan in !C;;. After a bloody con4ict, it

became an independent nation in !C?!. 6hile there have been four

military coups since independence, Bangladesh is currently a

democratic nation. It has a secular unicameral parliamentary form of

government and is governed by two ma$or political parties, the

Bangladesh Awami >eague and the Bangladesh (ationalist arty. Its

capital is ha-a.

*&* 0aw and order in +anladesh

In the past /E years, there has been an increase in crime, especially

violent crime, and a brea-down of law in Bangladesh. In the !E years

an increase in the rate from ?" to "? crimes per !EE,EEE citizens. Fust

four years later, by /E!E, over !#/,EEE crimes were reported to the

police, a rate of !!E per !EE,EEE citizens. It is important to note thatunderreporting of crime is common in Bangladesh, particularly for

property crimes. It is estimated that about !;,EEE children and women

are victims of human trac-ing each year. *rganized robbery gangs

are common. arts of Bangladesh are described as being lawless.

Additionally, there has been an increase in terrorist activity by militant

Islamic groups in Bangladesh. Gor example, on August !?, /EE;, 5;EGeneral People's Perception Towards Police C


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bombs aimed at government buildings were set o by Famaatul

2u$ahideen, an Islamist extremist terrorist group. %undreds of

Bangladeshis have been -illed in terrorist attac-s in the past decade.

6hile there has been a rise in crime and terrorism, the use of

incarceration is low. Bangladesh has an incarceration rate of 5/ per

!EE,EEE.

*&- Social 4actors 5 Cri1e in Co11"nit)

The crime in a community has a relationship with dierent factors of

that community. The social, economic and other relevant factors

regulate the increase and decrease of crime. According to )reene, a

sociologist, @The relationship between crime and disorder in

community is complicated by many factors. overty, ine3uality, social

in$ustice, unemployment, decay of social and moral values, lac- of

family bonds, density of people and racial con4icts escalate the crime

situation in the society.

The police have little scope to directly regulate these community crime

factors. The community, government agencies, ()*s and private

social development organizations associated with these factors such as

education, housing, $ob training, family support, health care, drug

control, etc. can play important role to aect the crime factors. %ere

the police can extend their hand of coHoperation as a promoter.

:eville developed a theory called @ecology of crime. It explains how

criminal opportunities are created in neighborhoods. According to

@ecology of crime theory, every neighborhood has a crime

@threshold. It means every neighborhood has the capacity to hold a

certain number of disorders and crime factors. 6hen the number of

these things exceeds the thresholdJ or limit of carrying capacity, the

total social system and social control collapses. The society turns into aplace of hell and citizens are pushed in uncertainty, insecurity and

chaos. The 3uality of life of the citizens degrades.

The community leaders and citizens need to understand when the

neighborhoods are approaching the @threshold in a given situation in

order to prevent the disaster. olice alone cannot prevent the crimeGeneral People's Perception Towards Police !E


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factors marching towards the KthresholdK. All individuals and entities of

the society consciously must ta-e this responsibility. olice will

constantly be with them as facilitators.

*&. Cri1e Rate in +anladesh

>evel of crime ?!.

!C

%igh

'rime increasing in the past 0 years ?/.E0

%igh

%ome bro-en and things stolen ##.

C;

%igh

Being mugged or robbed ##.

/0

%igh

'ar stolen ;".

!C

2odera

teThings from car stolen ;#.

0#

2odera

teAttac-ed ;?.

"C

2odera

teBeing insulted ;5.

E/

2odera

teBeing sub$ect to a physical attac- because of s-in

color, ethnic origin or religion

5E.

#"

2odera

te+sing or dealing drugs #;.

?C

%igh

roperty crimes such as vandalism and theft #".

C?

%igh

Liolent crimes such as assault and armed robbery #5.

//

%igh

'orruption and bribery "5.

/#

Lery

%igh

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*&/ Sa(et) in +anladesh

:afety wal-ing alone during daylight 5#.;

;

2odera

te:afety wal-ing alone during night /?.C

?

>ow

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Chapter -

Perception

toward Police

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-&! 6hat is Perception7

A process by which individuals organize and interpret their sensory

impressions in order to give meaning to their environment.

-&!&!6h) is it I1portant7

Because people


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-&* Police

The police are those who are the members of a government

organization which is responsible for enforcing law and maintaining

peace and order, prevention and detection of crime. The olice are one

of ma$or components of criminal $ustice system.

-&*&!%"ties o( Police

!. Arrest oenders./. revent crime.

0. :olve ongoing problems and5. Improve the overall 3uality of live etc.

-&*&*Principles o( Modern Policin

Prevention and detection of crime

Protection of life and property of the citizens through enforcement of law

Preservation of peace, order and safety Enforcement of laws and ordinances

Safeguarding of constitutional guarantees

Investigating problems and incidents

Enhancement of the quality of life of the citizens by fostering a sense of

security in communities and individuals

The power of the police to fulfill their duties is dependent on public approval

and on their ability to secure and maintain public respect.

Public respect and approval also mean the willing cooperation of the public.

See! and preserve public favor not by pursuing but by demonstrating

impartial service to the people and the law.

"aintain a relationship with the public that gives belief that the police are the

public and the public are the police.

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-&-I1ae o( Police

The police image entails the general views and impression of the

citizens about police. It also refers the evaluation and acceptance of

police action and police behavior by the people. In most of the

countries of the world specially in the under developed and developing

countries the police image is very frustrating. eople hold negative

views about police and there exists a distance in the relationship

between police and public. In the Indian subcontinent including

Bangladesh the police are not in good boo- of the common people. The

common people have the tendency to avoid police. In very few cases

police get coHoperation from the members of public.

2edia describes police as evasive, nonHcooperative, nonHtrusting, selfH

important, indierent, withholding, unfair, arrogant, wrongHdoers,

repressive force and violator of law and human rights. The pressmen

need to get information from law enforcement in a timely manner to

-eep the public informed. They tend to get early and secret

information. The pressmen argue that the public has the right to -now

the happenings whether overt and covert. It is the duty of the media to

-eep them informed about the happenings of the society and also what

law enforcing agencies are doing. They opined that media is the

connection between police and public. They comment that sometimesthey are under ma$or time crunch and they need immediate

information from law enforcement to meet up the people7s demand

and expectation. But they do not get desired cooperation from the

police. The police ocers are always evasive. They avoid press to give

information. :ometimes police do not li-e to tal- to the press to avoid

the responsibility for giving information of any incident. olice have

little trust on the press. They have a tendency to thin- themselves very

powerful in the society and are reluctant to care others. The nonH

cooperation of police put the press in diculty to collect informationabout crime, crime related incidents, etc. to bring those to the citizens

of the country.

An unfavorable picture is often painted of the Bangladesh police. The

police are not seen as friends or partners with the community. It is

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alleged that the police will often harass and intimidate ordinary, lawH

abiding citizens. The police are seen as ineective in dealing with

crime and disorder. @>awlessness is a common phenomenon that

Bangladeshi people live with every day. >arceny, high$ac-, robbery,

burglary, arson, damage of private and public property, 1ght over

property and political power, murder Mincluding politicalN, and rape are

a few of dierent types of crime that Bangladeshi people experience

on an everyday basis.

The e3uipment of the Bangladeshi police is outdated and training of

ocers is rarely done, which hinders the eectiveness of the police.

The Bangladeshi police have been criticized for being overly controlled

by politicians. The police have often been described as protecting the

interests of those with power, particularly those in control of the

government.

*rdinary Bangladeshis @believe the cops are only lac-eys in a system

in which the chief criminal bene1ciaries are a handful of powerful gang

lords with important political connections. olice are also seen as

being complicit in the ruling party


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detained by the police are serious, and are @often in need of acute

medical treatment afterwards. 2any Bangladeshi people even fear

the police.

6hile there are problems, there have been eorts to reform the police.

In the past decade, there have been eorts to improve the relationship

and interactions between the Bangladeshi police and citizens. An antiHcorruption commission was recently formed to address corruption,

including by the police. (evertheless, much more wor- is needed. In a

survey of people who had interacted with the police in ha-a, the

capital city, most did not have positive views of the police nor felt that

the police had the best interests of the residents at heart. Ginally,

surveyed Bangladeshi college students reported low trust in the police

and felt that in general the police did not treat everyone with respect.

-&.Reasons (or neati3e police i1ae

Larious factors are responsible for tarnishing the image of police.

Gollowing reasons or factors are identi1ed for image crises of police8

-&.&! Traditional attit"de o( policeThe police hold traditional attitude inherited from the colonial regime.

They could not reset their mind set up fully to suit the democratic

norms and values. The traditional attitude of the police is the barrier to

introduce people oriented and community based policing. This is why

police image is not getting uplift from the crisis state.

-&.&*Gap 8etween police and p"8licThere exists gap between police and public for which mutual

understanding is not being established between police and public. This

gap is the main reason for image crisis of police.

-&.&-#on?("l@ll1ent o( p"8lic epectationeople li-e to see police as honest, fair, neutral, courageous and

prompt in action. They also expect wellHbehavior and friendly attitude

from the members of law enforcing agency. But police, in practical life,

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are not seen to act or expose themselves as per expectation of the

citizens. The gap between the expectation and reality, as regards to

police push the police image to the lower level.

-&.&.Police Miscond"ctolice misconduct is a broad term referring to a variety of unethical,

illegal and unbecoming behaviors by police towards the citizens. Lery

often the police do not behave properly with the people when people

rush to police being victimized to hostile situation or incidents. An

individual may carry out the misconduct, but it tarnishes the image of

total police department.

-&.&/Police +r"talit):ometimes the police use unreasonable and excessive force over the

arrested persons or members of an unlawful assembly. They use forcein a brutal way that touches the heart of the common people. This

brutality of police spoils the police image.

-&.&2 A8"se o( Power and


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want without having to answer to the public or anybody else.

:ometimes this power is abused by a section of police for which fear

of policeJ is there in the society. eople have dissatisfaction on police

attitude. Gear of police and dissatisfaction of the people on police have

created a signi1cant gap between police and public.

-&.&Partisan Role:ometimes police do not act impartially. Being in4uenced by vested

3uarters or for personal gain police play a partisan role in their action.

eople lose con1dence on police. Thus police earn a bad name.

-&.&D+ad Association:ome police ocers -eep in touch of people who are 3uestionable in

the eyes of the people. A section of police ocers maintain relationshipwith political touts and activists, smugglers or bad but in4uential

people. eople do not li-e the persons of this nature. olice image

diminished following the connection with persons of 3uestionable

nature and activity.

-&.&!In3ol3in in Cri1e:ometimes members of law enforcing agency involve themselves in

various type of crimes. 9ven the individual involvement in crime bypolice severely hampers the image of police.

-&.&!!Media Co3erae2edia has an enormous impact on public opinion. olice image is

aected by the manner in which television and newspapers present

crime stories and law enforcement activities. 2edia often bring up

report on police matter exaggerating the facts that aects the police

image.

-&.&!*Eternal inter(erence in Police wor,sThe political force and pressure groups very fre3uently interfere in

police wor-s. They use police for their own interest violating existing

rules and ethics. olice ocers sometimes willingly or unwillingly serveGeneral People's Perception Towards Police /E


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the purpose of those vested groups for their personal safety and to

-eep them free from possible ris- and confrontation. Thus, police

image goes down in the eyes of the citizens.

-&.&!-Police %iscretionolice have awesome power to use force, to loc- people up and even to

ta-e some one7s life. olice have broad discretionary powers. iscretion

may be de1ned as follows8

iscretion means the freedom of ma-ing a decision based on

individual choice or $udgment and a number of factors. These factors

include law and regulations, procedures and guidelines of an

organization, personal values and beliefs and also the norms and

values of the respective area and citizens of that area. The discretion

gives police too much freedom to pic- and choose when and againstwhom they will enforce the law. 'itizens are aware of this discretion of

police. At the same time, they have doubt over police whether police

will exercise their discretion $udiciously and neutrally or they will abuse

the discretion and they will overloo- the violations of law of the

wealthy and powerful people.

-&/Ma>or pro8le1's o( +anladesh Police

9xisting police structure and the laws relating to policing were

established by the British rulers and these re3uire comprehensive

review. *ur police owed its creation to the olice Act, !"#!,

principal purpose of which was to maintain the status 3uo. The

Act puts ma$or emphasis on maintenance of order. &ather than

putting importance on the professional aspect of crime control,

the Act overemphasizes on the constabulary functions of the

police.

The police of lower echelon constitute ma$ority of police force.

But they, particularly the constables, (aye-s and low ran-ing

police ocers, do not possess substantial educational and

intellectual attainments. Their treatment and exposure to the

general people is very arrogant and frightening

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:alary given to the police ocers and constables is insucient.

olice ocers and constables wor- !0H!" hours a day, which is

almost double than the wor-ing hours of the government

employees of other professions. *n an average ocer in charge

M*.'.N of a metropolitan police station wor-s !" hours a day, an

*.'. of district and thana level wor-s !; hours MTIB, /EE5N. Buttheir salary is not sucient to their serving !0H!" hours. Though

they serve extra hours, but they do not get any remuneration for

that MTIB, /EE5N.

olice is always confronted with the problem of inade3uate

logistic support. *n an average ;H# police stas sit in each room

of a police station. In most of the police stations there is no room

for conference or meeting. olice stations of districts and thanas

have no prison van. The toilet facilities of police stations are

insucient. The police stations are not provided with sucient

number of vehicles and necessary furniture. olice ocials

re3uire modern and light arms for expected crime control, but

they are not suciently armed.

There are allegations that police has been politically used by

successive governments which create ma$or obstacles to develop

professionalism in police.

olice organization of Bangladesh suers from insucientaccountability, both internal and external. Internal accountability

can enhance competence, and prevent corruption, whereas

external accountability can ensure peopleHoriented service.

-&2Police anal)ed p"8lic satis(action a8o"t their

Per(or1ance

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&esearch has indicated that public con1dence in the police is broad

and may be increasing and that most people consider police

performance to be at least moderate M?5.# percentN.This level of public

satisfaction is similar across speci1c services M1gure /N. %owever, only

a very small percentage M/.C percentN considers police performance to

be very good. Additionally, only half M5C.; percentN of those whoreported a crime to the police said that they were satis1ed with the

police investigation and rendered.

-&BThe 3iew on +anladeshi Police a1on St"dents

(ote. ercentages may not e3ual !EED due to rounding. : Q :tronglyisagree, Q isagree, + Q +ncertain, A Q Agree, and :A Q :tronglyAgree. :ev stands for standard deviation. &' stands for reverse codedMpercentages reported here re4ect being reverse codedN. There were/;"Bangladeshi participants.

:

+ A :

A

2ea

n

:

Con@dence in Police

The police -now what is best

for my community

? 0 ! 0 # /.C5 !.E

?

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olice -now what is best for

people

olice -nowhow to best respond

to crime

C

;

0

0

!

!

0

0

!

E

!

E

0.E?

0./0 E.C

#

E.C

CTr"st in Police

I trust the police /

#

0 / ! ; /.5/ !.!

"Police Ci3ilit)

olice are )enerally friendly

olice generally treat everyone

the same in my community

/

;

/

C

5

0

!

!

!

!

0

?

/.0!

/.0C

!./

;

!.!

/Police Sho"ld +e Ci3il

The police should show respect

to those they meet

; ? ! 5 /

0

0.?; !.E

;Police 6or,


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Police Acco"nta8ilit)

There should be greater control

of the police by communitycitizens

olice should be account able

for their actions

!

!

!

5

!

/

;

0

!

E

;

5

0.#/

5.E5

E."

"

E."

!

Aressi3e Policin

9xcessive olice scrutiny is

necessary to 1ght crime

Gre3uents tops by the police in

the community is necessary toreduce crime

0

;

"

#

;

/

;

;

0

!

!

#

5.EE

0.##

E.C

C

!.E

EPolice S"pport

eople in the 'ommunity shouldalways support the police

# / ! 0 !

0

0./" !.!

5

:tudents usually represent the highest socioeconomic status groups in

a society, especially so in Bangladesh. This study shows that students

MuniversityN have 3uite low levels of con1dence in police and

unfavorable evaluations of various police performance areas, including

civility and fairness, wor-ing ethic, effectiveness, and efforts in

see-ing community input. Gewer than half of the participants agreed

that the police -now what is best for their community.

/!D participants thought that the police generally treated everyone

the same in their community. !#D participants believed that the

police in their community wor- hard. /5D participants believed that

the police generally have little impact in the amount of crime in their

community. The students have signi1cantly lower levels of trust in

police and students have also held signi1cantly lower levels of

satisfaction with police friendliness, industriousness, and effectiveness

on crime. :tudents expressed higher levels of con1dence in police.

:tudents have high expectations that the police -now how to bestrespond to crime yet fail to do so, they become even more

disappointed and distrustful of the police. :tudents emphasize police

accountability and endorse aggressive policing more. Gacing escalating

crime problems and a police force with problems of corruption and

other abuse of power, a strong desire for enhancing police

General People's Perception Towards Police /;


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accountability seems most natural for students. 6omen have

especially low levels of satisfaction with the police, as was found in

this study.

Chapter .

Concl"sionGeneral People's Perception Towards Police /#


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General People's Perception Towards Police /?


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C$#C0USI$#

.&! Fe) Challenes

0aw and $rderSit"ation;

eople seem to have highly divided opinion aboutthe overall law and order situation during last two

years blaming political unrest and con4ict for not

much

improvement of the situation.

Cri1e Sit"ation

5 Reportin

Cri1e;

*verall people appear reluctant to approach the

police when faced with crimes of whatever nature.

6hile much of the crime reportedly relates to

personal property disputes, the perception ofpolice negligence, malpractices and overall

ineciency contribute to the reluctance.

Ser3ice "alit)

at Thana le3el;

erceived diculty in obtaining service also

dissuades people from reporting crimes. :ervice

delivery is hampered by police having to face

undue in4uence and

external pressure from political and ocial

sources. Inade3uate number of women police at

the Thana level impedes services to women and

children. Lulnerable groups 1nd it dicult to

obtain proper service. These perceptions add to

the overall opinion that levels of service and

police performance as regards crime is generally

low.

Awareness

a8o"t 3ario"s

initiati3es o(

Ser3ice %eli3er)

There is not much awareness among general

public about various initiatives under & such as

Lictim :upport 'enters ML:'N and 'ommunity

olicing M'N and the services they can avail from

the police and 2odel Thana.

eople are conse3uently less li-ely to see-

support from such initiatives in times of need or

General People's Perception Towards Police /"


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when faced with crimes.Police Re(or1

Prora1

2ost people have scant or no -nowledge of the

& and its ob$ectives. Awareness of 2odel Thana

and the improved service facilities available is also

very low. This would appear to be a singular

shortcoming that the program has not been able

to overcome.

.&* Reco11endation

!. #ew Police Act ;*ur police owed its creation to the olice Act,

!"#!. The Act puts ma$or emphasis on maintenance of order.

&ather than putting importance on the professional aspect of

crime control. 6e re3uire a new olice Act, which will focus

professional aspect of crime control and clearly de1ne police role

and responsibility. The new Act needs to ensure police

professionalism, accountability and modern police management,

the proper functioning of which see-s to improve human security

and access to $ustice.

/. I1pro3e1ent o( the law and order ;If changes for the better

are to be eected and the police be made to perform as the true

guardians of law and order, political organizations must be

brought on board and made to commit to support eorts as

re3uired for the improvement of the law and order situation and

ensuring safety, access to $ustice and human rights for the

people. This will re3uire a top level commitment from many

actors including the police and the necessary wor- must be done

in this regard.

0. Re(or1; olice need to develop and actively pursue a more

people friendly wor- ethic. &esponsiveness Mpromptness and

attentivenessN in addressing complaints should be increased.

2ore support should be given to vulnerable and disadvantaged

groups. eveloping ade3uacy in police strength should be made

General People's Perception Towards Police /C


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a real consideration particularly in increasing the number of

women police at Thanas.

5. CitienHs inp"t; 'itizen


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groups, organizations, agencies and other components of the

society to solve the -ey problems.

!E. Pro8le1 sol3in approach; Identifying the problems,

police with the collaboration of the community launch

programmers to solve the problems at the beginning. 'ommunity

policing does not allow any minor problem to turn into large and

complicated one.

!!. Proacti3e role;roactive role is the main philosophy of

community policing. In policing system police with the

collaboration of the community ta-e various awareness building,

education and motivational programmers for the people specially

the vulnerable population with a view to create awareness of

crime and social vices to save them from those. olicing wor-s onthe principle @prevention is better than cure.

.&- Concl"sion

olice are not the only component in the criminal $ustice system to

exercise discretion. rosecutors exercise discretion when determining

priorities for prosecution. Fudges exercise discretion while hearing or

giving verdict. All other ocials or agencies exercise discretion while

performing their duties in their respective 1elds. olice have to follow a

lot of laws, rules, regulations and bureaucratic procedures in their

action. &ules and regulations limit an ocer7s ability to use common

sense or act in a humane way in certain situations. This is why

discretion for police is necessary. There are some archaic or ambiguousor dead laws. 'itizens do not expect those laws to be enforced. There

are not enough police to act on every violation of law. :o, there should

have discretion for police. olice select which laws need to be enforced.

olice should have scope to priorities the oences they act upon.

'rime is more concern than violation of rules and serious crime is a

greater threat than minor crime. Oeeping it in mind the police actGeneral People's Perception Towards Police 0!


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accordingly. iscretion is important to maintain good community

relations. If police were to enforce the letter of the law, community

resentment will arise.

+I+0I$GRAP


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General People's Perception Towards Police in Bangladesh