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Police Reform in Bangladesh: an Analysis of the Role of Selected Institutional Actors and Factors in Its Implementation

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POLICE REFORM IN BANGLADESH: AN ANALYSIS OF THE ROLE OF SELECTED INSTITUTIONAL ACTORS AND FACTORS IN ITS IMPLEMENTATION Thesis submitted to the University of Dhaka, Bangladesh for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy By Md. Moinur Rahman Chowdhury Ph.D. Researcher Reg. No. 60/2015-16 Dept. of Public Administration University of Dhaka, Bangladesh Under the Supervision of Professor Musleh Uddin Ahmed, Ph.D. Department of Public Administration University of Dhaka, Dhaka-1000 Bangladesh 03 September 2018 1 Dedication This thesis is dedicated to My beloved parents for their endless love, support, encouragement and sacrifice throughout my life and To all the golden sons of the soil who sacrificed their lives in bringing the independence of our motherland, Bangladesh. I Declaration I hereby declare that this Ph.D. thesis entitled “Police Reform in Bangladesh: an Analysis of the Role of Selected Institutional Actors and Factors in its Implementation” was carried out by me for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the Department of Public Administration, University of Dhaka, Bangladesh. The interpretations put forth are based on my re0ading and understanding of the original texts and they are not published anywhere in the form of books, monographs or articles. The other books, articles and websites, which I have made use of are acknowledged at the respective place in the text. For the present thesis, which I am submitting to the University, no degree or diploma or distinction has been conferred on me before, either in this or in any other University. Md. Moinur Rahman Chowdhury Registration No: 60/2015-16 Department of Public Administration University of Dhaka, Dhaka-1000 Bangladesh. II Certificate This is to certify that the work incorporated in the thesis “Police Reform in Bangladesh: an Analysis of the Role of Selected Institutional Actors and Factors in its Implementation” submitted by Md. Moinur Rahman Chowdhury was carried out by the candidate under my guidance. Such materials as has been obtained from other sources have been duly acknowledged in the thesis. Professor Musleh Uddin Ahmed, Ph.D Department of Public Administration University of Dhaka, Dhaka-1000 Bangladesh. III Acknowledgement I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my esteemed mentor and supervisor Professor Dr. Musleh Uddin Ahmed, Department of Public Administration, University of Dhaka for his continuous support and encouragement throughout the course of present research. Without his advice and unique support this thesis would never have become a reality. I am grateful for cooperation, ideas and thoughts of Professor Dr. Quamrul Alam, International Business and Strategy, Higher Education Division, School of Business and Law, CQ University, Australia. Further, I would like to extend my gratitude to Professor Dr. Salahuddin M Aminuzzaman, Department of Public Administration, University of Dhaka, for his inspiration which helped me a lot in the path of success of this research. I am thankful to Mr. Abdul Karim, former secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs and Mr. Noor Mohammad, former Inspector General of Bangladesh Police and secretary to the Government along with their colleagues for the encouragement, input and moral support they offered me in carrying out this research. I express my gratitude to Dr. Niloy Ranjan Biswas, Associate Professor, Department of International Relations, University of Dhaka for his all out suggestions and input. I acknowledge the sincere effort of Mr. Helal Uddin, a graduate of the Department of Public Administration, University of Dhaka, for assisting me in carrying out the research. IV I am thankful to my fellow colleagues of Bangladesh Police for the stimulating discussions. In particular, I am grateful to SP Farooque Ahmed, SP Mohammod Nasirul Islam, Addl. SP Md. Mahbubul Karim, Addl. SP Mohammad Mahfuzur Rahman Al-mamun, Addl. SP RM Faizur Rahman and ASI Jashim Uddin for enlightening me with the first glance of research. Finally, I wish to express my greatest thanks to my family particularly my beloved mother for supporting me spiritually throughout the research and my life in general. Date 03/09/2018 Md. Moinur Rahman Chowdhury V Abstract Reform of the police is an official attempt that aims to restructuring or reorganizing the existing structure and its mode of functioning in the law and order management of a state. Such reforms can be variously defined, designed and implemented. Moreover, diverse stakeholders are involved in the process. One may identify this phenomenon of reforms with numerous names, such as change, transformation, restructuring, re-engineering, renewal, adjustment and it must evolve to a new form and format through a planned, systematized and well-directed process. However, it leaves some crucial questions regarding the objectives, stakeholders, outputs and the process of the reform. Moreover, security matters to individuals. It also emerged as a vital concern for underdevelopment. Strong institutions are necessary to mitigate internal conflicts and help to build better lives for citizens. Reforms in the police ensure the safety and wellbeing of people. Hence, the participation of relevant actors in reform is critical to achieve human security for a state. There is only a very few qualitative empirical studies conducted on the topic that explains a direct correlation between actors’ active involvement and the success of police reform (SSR) initiatives in the context of Bangladesh. Therefore, a major knowledge gap exists in the current discourse of police reform. On this backdrop, this study aims to analyze the role of selected institutional actors and factors in the implementation of police reform in the context of Bangladesh. The objective is to identify different areas of police reform wherein interventions are to be made for the improvement of police efficiency, effectiveness, and accountability. Moreover, this thesis analyzes the issues and challenges of police reform in Bangladesh; and identifies the role of the key stakeholders in turning police into democratic practice. VI This thesis reviews and examines the role of selected institutional actors, factors and processes in the implementation of police reform in Bangladesh. The examination of selected factors assists us to identify the gaps and areas for further improvement. This thesis applies a mixed method approach that involves the collection or analysis of both quantitative and qualitative data. The data are collected concurrently or sequentially, are given a priority, and involve the integration of the data at one or more stages in the research process (Creswell, Plano-Clark, Gutmann & Hanson, 2002, p. 212). In-depth interviews and survey with semi-structured questionnaire are conducted to attain data along with the line of the major objectives and research questions of the thesis. Finally, the thesis argues that police reform is being increasingly accepted as an important element of conflict management. A police service supported by the community and skillful of arresting insecurity can have a far-reaching impact on enabling lasting economic, social and political development. Police reform also can complement and encourage other programming in the areas of security sector reform, rule of law and good governance. Efforts to reform the police and improve their service delivery face daunting political, financial, logistical and historical obstacles. Its complexity can be intimidating, touching on issues of management, leadership, political will, attitudes, established behaviors and negative public perceptions. This study also emphasizes on the issue of information asymmetry between the stakeholders of the reform, which requires more attention for a successful and sustainable reform in the long run. For the policymakers, this thesis will demonstrate the gap in contemporary scholarship, so that, the findings of this study could be used to recommend policy options on the constructive engagement of diverse actors in the police reform process to address the crucial intersection of human security and development of a nation. VII Abbreviations & Acronyms ADB - Asian Development Bank Add. IG - Additional Inspector General APBn - Armed Police Battalion BMP - Barisal Metropolitan Police CHRI - Commonwealth Human Rights Initiatives CID - Criminal Investigation Department CMP - Chittagong Metropolitan Police CPF - Community Policing Forum CrPC - Criminal Procedure Code DIG - Deputy Inspector General DMP - Dhaka Metropolitan Police DSB - District Special Branch EPR - East Pakistan Rifles FIR - First Information Report FPU - Formed Police Unit HRM - Human Resource Management IGP - Inspector General of Police KMP - Khulna Metropolitan Police MoHA - Ministry of Home Affairs MoPA - Ministry of Public Administration NGO - Non-government Organization OSCE - The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe PCC - Police Contributing Country PHQ - Police Headquarters PIO - Police Internal Oversight VIII PRP - Police Reform Program PS - Police Station PSC - Police Staff College PT&IM - Police Telecom and Information Management PTC - Police Training Centre RAB - Rapid Action Battalion RMP - Rajshahi Metropolitan Police RRF - Range reserve force SAF - Special Armed Force SB - Special Branch SDPO - Sub-Divisional Police Officer SMP - Sylhet Metropolitan Police SP - Superintendent of Police SSR - Security Sector Reform UK - United Kingdom UN - United Nations UNDP - United Nations Development Programme VSC - Victim Support Centre IX Contents Dedication I Declaration
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