Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Commissioner Md Shafiqul Islam has instructed police to stay vigilant against teenage gangs in Dhaka amid a recent surge in gang related crimes.
He issued the instruction while addressing the monthly crime conference at Raajarbagh police auditorium on Sunday, and said all police units of DMP should monitor gang activities.
Teenage gang culture was discussed at length during the conference and top DMP officials said such culture is a major concern for law and order.
Teenage gangs are becoming increasingly involved in crimes such stalking, drug addiction, rape and even murder, some officers said.
Md Shafiqul Islam instructed DMP's crime units to be careful, but still urged beat policemen to identify and monitor teenage gangs and their members. He also stressed the importance of checking if gangs are becoming involved in stalking or drugs.
Experts fear the initiation of teenage gang members into crimes at an early stage could make it difficult to rehabilitate them.
Rajshahi Metropolitan Police recently launched a crackdown on teenage gangs, detaining nearly 400 members. Among the detained, at least 300 were later released into their parents’ custody.
During the conference, the DMP chief emphasized setting up temporary checkpoints across Dhaka to monitor gang activity.
He also instructed police stations to organize awareness rallies and to recognize the kind of issues women are facing in relation to gangs by consulting them.
“Drugs are one of the main reasons behind sexual assaults and mugging. The situation can also be improved by confiscating high volumes of drugs,” said Shafiqul, stressing the need to identify drug addicts and rehabilitate them.
The DMP commissioner claimed more than 95% of people have expressed satisfaction with the outcomes of general dairies (GD) and cases filed with police stations.
He also urged the police to behave professionally during investigations.
