'Reforms in police a must to fight rising crimes'
The police force should be reformed so that it can combat the emerging and transnational crimes, speakers told a conference Tuesday.
Police Reform Programme (PRP) hosted the three-day conference on "Sustainable police reform in Bangladesh: From global experiences to local strategies" launched Tuesday at the city's Ruposhi Bangla Hotel.
In his speech, UNDP Country Director SK Murthy expressed pleasure on the theme of the conference -- responding to human trafficking and emerging crimes.
He quoted a Unicef report as saying that each month about 400 women and children in Bangladesh fall victim to both internal and international trafficking. Three lakh Bangladeshi women and children aged 12-30 had been trafficked to India while another two lakh were sold in Pakistan in the last 10 years, he added.
The UNDP official also pointed out that Bangladesh Police is governed by an age-old Act promulgated in 1861, and laid emphasis on experience sharing on how modernisation of relevant legislation and regulations might play a critical role in ensuring sustainable police reform and fighting emerging crimes.
PRP's National Project Director Mokhlesur Rahman said the conference puts stress on four focus areas -- organisational reform, community policing, enhancing serious crimes investigation, and responding to human trafficking and other emerging crimes.
Participants from Canada, Australia, South Africa, Thailand and Cambodia attended the inaugural function of the conference among others.
Home Minister Sahara Khatun addressed the conference as the chief guest while State Minister Shamsul Hoque Tuku and PRP project manager Henk van Zyl also spoke.
The PRP started in 2005 with the aim to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the Bangladesh Police by supporting the transition from a colonial to democratic policing model. The second phase of PRP has been in progress since 2009.
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