The Pressures on the Police Workforce

Lately the public have formed a rather uncharitable image of the police workforce, as its performance is deteriorating and not coming up to public expectation, due to different factors and pressures being generated in a society which is changing fast every year; especially since the general elections in 1991.

The workload on crimes have increased, and the additional processing is beyond the current handling capacity of the police system. The control on crimes depends on the pivotal points of the criminal and unsocial activities. If these are generated politically, then the police feel a little bit helpless in chasing the masters!

'Nip it in the bud' is a wise saying, but the nipping point is not visible to the public at large. The pullers of the strings are traceable; but how to stop these puppet-dances? The former always manage to keep away from the traps. Subtle political misdemeanors are not easy to control in any country.

Both external and internal factors are contributing to the poor performance of the police, tarnishing its image as instant helpers when called upon for their services. The pressure from the external sources in mostly political, resulting from the field testing newly-regained power and influence by the politicians, hibernating for 16 years under autocratic umbrellas.

The day to day police service in Bangladesh today is totally unfit, morally, mentally, logistically, and technically; to maintain the law and order situation in the fast changing society (the tempo and the frequency of occurrences have risen exponentially). A routine, stable, ongoing system requires less energy (flywheel effect) to operate and maintain, provided the inputs are within the design parameters (can't face an SMG with a.303 rifle). But a changing system (any system, in frequency and characteristics) needs fast feedbacks and deployment teams for instant corrective action, to provide satisfactory service at the trained, professional level (just as the doctors have to adapt themselves to new diseases [like AIDS/HIV], medicines and techniques).

The police, as controller of a criminal situation, have to change and act faster than the changing society, to have enough reserves for contingencies (unhindered by the politicians in power), to contain the spread of new types of criminal activities occurring every day. The deterrent measures must be more than required to cover the anticipated activities. Crimes go up with the rise of circulation of money. The police have to compete at the highest level of performance in this communication age.

Why the open moral degradation at the proper levels was not so high, as it is observed today, when the autocrats ruled, is an issue which the politicians must analyse in the parliament and at the ministerial level. Which trends, political or otherwise, encouraged indiscipline, and eroded moral values have to be spotted by the social scientists, for the proper enforcement of the law. Who are the masterminds who could be classified as culprits by the National Moral Tribunal (which does not exist in Dhaka).

We need something like the war crimes tribunal operating at the international level trying the genocide cases at the Hague, covering more fields than a single one of 1971 genocide. The high-profile culprits always point at others, and are above the reach of the police. The conclusion is clear enough: Interference with public duties.

The return of the rusted, fogged, frustrated and lustful politicians to power after 16 years encouraged and enlarged different types of criminal and unsocial activities not noticeable before in such volume, due to the suspicion that political patronisations and nepotism plays a pivotal part in lack of prosecution. The non-political part is that corruption has been more or less institutionalised (latest finding is that the Anti-corruption Bureau itself is due for probe!).

Naturally the shady sections of the politicians in power (euphemistically called the representatives of the good and innocent people) will hesitate to support directly, strongly and openly the immediate moral rearmament of the policy service, as the police have to serve their subjective ends first (subjective security is a nuisance in public life- include the sheltered and self-armoured bureaucrats).

There is some sort of unanimity in the assumption that the police have been spoiled by the successive regimes, struggling ruthlessly to remain in power. The police cadre know about the political virus circulating within the closed police system, but cannot speak out, for obvious reasons.

Leadership cannot be bestowed; it has to be cultivated for years, before it is voluntarily recognised by the followers - the latter are certainly not duffers, though some of them might be crooked enough to share the spoils of victory, (as in the case of Sikdar). The greatest weakness facing a leader (any leader in any field) is temptation (for power and money - both materialistic in outlook), and the greatest enemy is hidden deep inside - the ego. Then who will cleanse the police administration? There is a tool: internal cleansing, whose other name is revolution.

The problem with Bangladesh is trying to cope with two root and core evils: moral insensitivity, and political zulum or overbearingness. The expanding ego is a hard taskmaster: it will extract its price before retreating. The ultimate arbitrators are the public. No system can remain in operation without public support, including the politicians. The trained police force is not being allowed by those in power to run the show in a professional manner, as can be seen in other stable countries. When there are vast disparities in a society, as in the undeveloped countries, then the contrasts stand out. What helplessness before naked demonstrations!

In Bangladesh today, political pollution and corruption have been deliberately and forcefully infiltrated into the other professions (through coercion), and the honest can only protest at peril. What is happening today is that the honest and the dedicated professionals and workers cannot open their mouth or protest and criticise openly, officially or unofficially.

When bhadra mastaans rule it is an ominous sign (the bad posing as good). Bad governance is like evil and autocratic zamindari (as the students of the British Permanent Settlement movement are aware). Most of the unstable and insecure political leaders are using too much power and influence right and left, but not at the centre, which is the zooming point of public interest.