The police sub-inspector suspended in Mohammadpur this week for assaulting a central bank official has a long list of accusations leveled against him for extortion and running a criminal empire.
Authorities must tackle the culture of patronage and political interference that plagues recruitment in public services if the police are to be able to effectively root out such criminality from their ranks.
This officer has not been alone in being able to get away with blatantly breaking the law. The seeking and taking of bribes by individual police officers plagues the public across the country.
It is not enough simply to take punitive action against police officers caught breaking the law. Police forces also have to tackle the culture and factors which enable rogue officers to establish themselves in the first place.
The launch of counseling services by the police department “to check moral degradation” among its members is clearly an insufficient response to this problem. Law and order is a prerequisite for any just and civilised society. People, least of all those recruited as police officers, should not have to be taught the difference between right and wrong.
The police service has to address the various causes of this problem.
Open and impartial inquiries to identify and gather evidence against wrongdoers need to be instituted more quickly. Exemplary punishment against individuals found guilty should also be sought to serve as a deterrent.
Above all, there needs to be zero tolerance for any abuses of the law by all police officers.
The taking of bribes and prevalence of financial and political patronage, that is embedded in recruitment procedures for the enrollment of constables and many promotions, must be rooted out once and for all.
