Fresh police recruitment

The report that bureaucratic tangles have stalled recruitment of around 16, 000 new police personnel is unfortunate.
It cannot be gainsaid that the present manpower strength of the police is very low compared to the size of the population.
While an improved ratio of police to people is important, it is the quality of the force that has a greater import. The quality of the force can only be improved through training along modern lines.
At present the public's confidence in the police is poor.
That is because it is looked upon more as an oppressor than the protector of the citizens. Rather than coming in aid of the people, they have been turned into an instrument at the hands of the political authority at the expense of professionalism.
Recent incidents of custodial tortures and deaths, extra-judicial killings by special crime busting unit of the police, the recent report of inhuman police torture on two minor boys and a girl held on suspicion of theft in custody provide glaring examples of human rights violation by the law-enforcing agencies. Add to this the poor mob control records of the police as they resort to high-handed methods at the first opportunity.
Allegations of pervasive corruption, their involvement in crime and complaints of the existence of a police-criminal nexus are also widespread. It would be worthwhile to take note of the Transparency International (TI)'s rating of Bangladesh police as one of the most corrupt organs of the government.
Taking all these negative factors into consideration, a mere increase in number of the police force can only do more harm than good unless they are trained up as motivated, committed and efficient law-enforcers.
So, alongside cutting the knot of red-tapism to go for fresh recruitment of police, the government should also attend to the issue of bolstering their capacity .Besides, their salaries and service conditions will have to be upgraded. Finally, they must have the tools to work efficiently.