Police uniform revamp: Tk 760m was spent, redesign sought again

Bangladesh Police wants to change its uniform as soon as possible and introduce a new one. Over the past week, the police administration has met with home minister Salahuddin Ahmed twice at the secretariat and presented five colour options for new uniforms. The police want the government to select one of these options.

However, the Ministry of Home Affairs prefers a cautious approach rather than a rushed decision. Officials at the Ministry of Home Affairs, speaking on condition of anonymity, said there is no scope for frequent uniform changes, so the decision must be taken carefully, as it also involves significant cost.

Officials at the Ministry of Home Affairs declined to comment on how much it costs to change police uniforms once. However, it has been learnt that during the tenure of the interim government, two firms were awarded contracts to supply fabric for police uniforms, which had a total value of Tk 760 million (76 crore).

Following the fall of the Awami League government on 5 August 2024 in the face of the July mass uprising, demands emerged for police reform. Some also called for a change in police uniforms.

In this context, a decision was taken on 20 January last year at a meeting of the advisory council committee on law and order to change the police uniform. An iron-coloured uniform was selected. Police began field operations in the new uniform on 25 November last year, although not all personnel have received it yet.

Alongside the police, decisions were taken to change the uniforms of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and Ansar as well. Olive-coloured uniforms were selected for RAB and golden wheat-coloured uniforms for Ansar. However, these changes were not implemented during the interim government’s term.

Assistant inspector general (Media and PR) at the Police Headquarters, AHM Shahadat Hossain, told Prothom Alo last November that the police force in Bangladesh consists of around 200,000 personnel. Each member is provided with five sets of uniforms annually by the government.

Sources at the Police Headquarters said the uniform had previously been changed in 2004. After around 21 years, changes were made to the police uniform in 2025. However, the uniform drew mixed reactions among field-level police personnel.

Many police members are unable to accept the change and have raised questions about the colour. They say the colour of the uniform does not look good. They are also feeling uncomfortable due to being trolled on social media.

After the BNP government took office on 17 February, the Bangladesh Police Service Association on 24 February requested a reconsideration of the decision to change the police uniform. In a statement, the organisation said that the new uniform selected by the interim government ignored the skin tone of police members, the weather, and their opinions.

The uniform, selected without any form of public opinion review, has an almost identical resemblance to those of other uniformed agencies. As a result, it has become difficult to identify police members in the field. Most members of the force are not in favour of this hurried change, added the statement.

Speaking as chief guest at an event at the Bangladesh Police Academy in Rajshahi’s Sardah on 28 March, home minister Salahuddin Ahmed said that the police force is not satisfied with the current uniform. He said a decision would be taken soon, after discussions at the highest level of government, so that the police can regain one of their old traditional uniforms.

Sources at the Ministry of Home Affairs said five police constables wore five different uniforms and went to the ministry last week. They displayed the five uniform colours before the home minister.

The options included a khaki shirt with navy blue trousers, a khaki shirt with khaki trousers, the previous navy blue shirt and trousers, along with the iron-coloured uniform approved during the interim government, and a light blue shirt with navy blue trousers.

During the interim government’s term, when tenders were invited for purchasing fabric for the new police uniform, two companies were awarded the job as the lowest bidders. Noman Group received work orders worth Tk 510 million (51 crore), while Paramount Group received work orders worth Tk 250 million (25 crore).

Sources at the Police Headquarters said that after these two contractors began supplying, from 15 November last year police in all metropolitan units, including the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP), and specialised units started wearing the new uniform. However, district police have not received the new uniform yet.

When asked how many sets of uniforms have been received so far and how much money has been spent, officials in the relevant branch of Police Headquarters declined to comment.

Regarding this, Noman Group director Shahidullah Chowdhury told Prothom Alo, “We were supposed to supply a total of 1 million (10 lakh) metres of fabric in the newly selected iron colour. So far, 300,000 (3 lakh) metres of fabric have been delivered.”

He said they have been instructed to halt the work for now by the police department. They have been told to resume according to the new design if a new colour is provided. He further said the fabric will remain the same, but the colour will change, and there will be no waste of money.

Many police members have already been issued the new uniform. Now, if the colour is changed, those will have to be discarded and new uniforms will have to be provided. This raises concerns about wastage of public money. Economists say that in the current economic situation, emphasis should be placed on saving money.

Former lead economist of the World Bank’s Dhaka office Zahid Hussain told Prothom Alo that the government needs to consider whether changing uniforms again within a year is appropriate. Providing new uniforms involves public expenditure. Instead, emphasis should be placed on improving the quality of police services and professional standards.