Police Reform Commission Chairman Safar Raz Hossain has said that they will prepare suggestions that include amendments to the 150-year-old police laws to reform the Bangladesh Police, making it a time-befitting, pro-people, and service-oriented force.
“We have to build a good police force for a democratic country, and its main task will be to serve the masses,” he said while speaking to journalists at the Secretariat.
In response to a question, Home Adviser Lt Gen Md Jahangir Alam Chowdhury (Retd) said they would extend all possible support to reform the police.
The chairman said that they would incorporate best practices from police reform proposals being implemented in various democratic countries.
“We have an understanding of how police operate in different democratic countries, and we will try to include the best practices of those countries in our reform proposals,” he said.
When asked whether they could submit the proposals within a three-month timeframe, Safar Raz Hossain expressed confidence, stating they would aim to accomplish their tasks within the stipulated time.
“We are working five days a week in the Home Ministry to finalize the proposals within the specified timeframe,” he added.
He noted that the Bangladesh Police has been operating under a 150-year-old law, specifically The Police Act of 1861 and the Police Regulations of Bengal, 1943.
“These laws are outdated. No major changes have been made to them,” he said.
The commission plans to engage with individuals who have been working on these laws to bring necessary changes.
Additionally, he stated that the commission intends to gather opinions from stakeholders, including civil society members, experts, media personalities, university students and teachers, general citizens, and police officers, to formulate a set of suggestions for reforming the police.
“We will simply suggest to the government what changes need to be made in various sections of the police laws to make them modern and relevant,” he said.
The full Police Reform Commission, led by former Home Secretary Safar Raz Hossain, was constituted on October 3 and has been given 90 days to complete its tasks.
Other members of the committee include Additional Home Secretary (Public Security Division) Abu Momtaj Sad Uddin Ahmed, Director General of the Department of Narcotics Control (DNC) Mohammad Iqbal, former divisional commissioner Mohammad Harun Chowdhury, former additional inspector generals of Police Sheikh Sajjad Ali and Md Golam Rasul, Dhaka University Law Department Professor Shahnaz Huda, human rights activist ASM Nasiruddin Alan, and a student representative.