Life as a Constable: Under stress, in distress

"They do high-risk jobs round the clock, and are often reprimanded by their supervisors. They constantly worry about their future and have little scope to spend time with their families. When combined together, all these can lead to severe mental breakdowns."

When Jibon Sarker (not his real name) joined the police force as a constable about 10 years ago, he took it for a life-changing job. In many ways, it is; but not for the right reasons.

He has an 11-hour shift, almost no weekly day off and hardly any leave. Posted at a police checkpoint in the capital, Jibon starts his shift at 7:30 in the evening and ends at 6:30 the next morning.

That's his official workhour. He needs more than four hours' preparation to start his day, from collecting firearms standing in a long queue at the Rajarbagh barracks and reaching the post through the crippling city traffic. After the day is called, he needs another hour or so to return to the barracks. That's about 16 hours out of his daily life.

Some days are longer.

Like him, some 1.29 lakh police constables across the country work too long for too little. Presently, newly-joined police constables in Dhaka get a monthly pay of about Tk 17,000, plus subsidised food items worth Tk 1,500-4,000, depending on the marital status and number of children. The pay is a little low in other cities and towns where living cost is not as high as in the capital.

"I had joined the police force with a lot of excitement. Having worked for about 10 years, I now know it's not what I thought. We have to work too hard for too long," said Jibon.

At least two dozen low ranking police members gave similar accounts, but they declined to speak on the record about internal police matters.

Police officials and psychologists say such stressful workhour for a prolonged period, in some cases in life-threatening situation, may trigger trauma and depression, leading to unhappy professional, personal and family life.

TO A BREAKING POINT

Constables are the lowest tier cops, who make up about 65 percent of some 2 lakh-strong police force. They are recruited through a process sometimes marked by hard lobbying and allegations of improper financial dealings.

As members of a disciplinary force, however, they must stand ready for call of duty 24/7.

The job responsibility includes controlling traffic, guarding VIPs and important establishments and checkpoints, accompanying senior officers during regular patrols and daring drives that sometimes lead to gunfights with criminals and, in some cases, doing household chores of senior officials.

Upon joining, a fresh recruit in Dhaka gets a monthly salary of Tk 14,900, plus a travel allowance of around Tk 2,000 when they have duty 8km away from their lodgings, police sources said.

In addition, unmarried constables get 12kg of rice, 10kg of flour, 2.5kg of lentils, 2kg of sugar and 2.5ltr of edible oil in monthly ration. The food support can increase up to three times, counting the household as a four-member family unit maximum – the couple and two children.

Some police members have bigger families, including their parents and siblings.

Of the cash payment, a certain portion is deducted at source as part of savings for future and police welfare.

For the first 15 months, each constable has to contribute Tk 2,000 a month in investment in the Police Community Bank in addition to a one-off contribution of Tk 10,000 for the construction of a police shopping mall.

There are other monthly and yearly contributions meant for the police welfare fund.

Although these contributions have future benefits for police members and their families, some find it difficult to support their families on a day-to-day basis, especially those who prefer not to indulge in corrupt practices like some of their colleagues allegedly do.

"At best, I can send Tk 7,000 for my family after all those deductions and keeping my personal expenses," said a constable who joined last year.

In times of emergency, some rent their ration cards to their colleagues -- to foot a medical bill of a relative, for example. A four-member ration card can fetch up to Tk 1 lakh. The original card holder can use the card again upon full payment of his debt against the card.

A recent internal police inquiry found 45 of the 185 constables at the Public Order Management in Mirpur have rented their ration cards to their colleagues for Tk 1,500-4,000 a month, said a police official, preferring not to be named.

For all this financial strain, they cannot often enjoy leave when needed, causing friction with their families.

The Police Act 1861, which regulates the force, has no provision for weekly leave, although police members can take a day off to "rest" to recover from exhaustion.

LITTLE LEAVE

As public servants, they are entitled to all government holidays, but many of them cannot leave their station even during religious festivals.

"I need a break, but cannot get one. The work pressure is too heavy," said Jibon, who applied for a 10-day leave in late September and was still waiting for the approval in mid-October.

Earlier this year, Constable Mehedi Hasan of Dhaka and Sub-inspector Hasan Ali of Pabna waited for months for their leave applications to be approved. Mehedi had been planning his wedding and Hasan had been preparing to sit for the BCS exam, their families said, although The Daily Star could not independently verify this.

They reportedly died by suicide in March and August respectively.

Police are investigating their deaths, along with 16 other reported suicide incidents in the police force in different parts of the country over the last three years.

On September 29, the Police Headquarters asked all unit chiefs to grant necessary leaves to "ensure welfare" of police members.

Former IGP Nurul Huda acknowledged that police members' job was very stressful. He suggested appointing psychologists in major police units to deal with their mental stress that stems from long workhours and tackling serious crimes that are often gory and traumatic.

Md Tawohidul Haque, assistant professor at the Institute of Social Welfare and Research at Dhaka University, said low ranking police officials face a twin pressure from workplace and their family.

"They do high-risk jobs round the clock, and are often reprimanded by their supervisors. They constantly worry about their future and have little scope to spend time with their families. When combined together, all these can lead to severe mental breakdown," said Tawohidul, who is doing research on the police force.

Muntasir Maruf, assistant professor of psychiatry at the National Institute of Mental Health, agrees. He suggested early detection of any sign of stress to prevent a total breakdown.

Kamruzzaman Rassel, assistant inspector general (media) of PHQ, said they started counselling their members to address the issue, saying they could not grant many leaves during the Covid-19 outbreak, as many police members contracted coronavirus and had additional duty to enforce the lockdown.

"During a crisis period, we cannot allow everyone to go on leave. But once the emergency is over, police members can take leave within the police rules," he said.