Community policing can help create safe neighbourhoods

Speakers at a conference yesterday said community-based policing could be a viable approach for Bangladesh to create safer neighbourhoods by preventing the crime before it aggravates, especially for vulnerable groups like women and girl children.
They said this at the inaugural ceremony of the two-day regional conference on 'Gender, International Human Rights Law and Community-Based Policing' at Police Staff College in the city.
Bangladesh Police, International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and German Technical Cooperation (GTZ) jointly organised the programme.
Police and administrative officials, civil society and NGO workers from Saarc countries participated in the conference to exchange lessons and identify linkage between gender, human rights and community policing.
Sir Norman Bettison, chief constable of West Yorkshire, shared his experience about community-based policing in the United Kingdom.
He said monthly survey in the UK shows that community-based policing is gaining huge public trust.
It is a method by which the police force work closely and actively with the community. Through motivation and early intervention, community police help prevent an offence before it aggravates instead of just apprehending lawbreakers after the incident.
In turn, community policing helps create a safer environment, Bettison explained.
He said the key expectation of every citizen to police is safety and police have the power to give a sense of security and change people's lives.
The UK police pointed out that women and girl children are the most frequent victims of abuse. Community police can spot the incidents faster and prevent abuse.
Currently, Bangladesh has one policeman for every 1,400 individuals.
Inaugurating the conference, State Minister for Women and Children Affairs Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury said community policing offers a paradigm shift in law enforcement, as it requires face-to-face contact with the people they serve.
Community policing helps fostering trust, which can be an important tool in protecting the lives of those who are more vulnerable, especially women and children, she added.
The minister called on the police force to involve more female personnel in the model of community policing.
Inspector General of Police Nur Mohammad, Garman Ambassador to Bangladesh Holger Michael, Dutch Ambassador to Bangladesh Alphons JAJMG Hennekens, Acting Head of Mission of ICRC Jerome Fontana and Additional Inspector General of Police Naim Ahmed, also rector of Police Staff College, also spoke.