9 sectors of police corruption identified

The police reform commission has identified nine sectors of corruption and illegal income of police members. The commission has recommended a special task force to uproot corruptive practices from the force, including recruitment and transfer business and extortion.

The information and the proposal came up in the full report submitted by the police reform commission. The report was published on the website of the police reform commission and the cabinet division. The commission submitted the report to the chief adviser on 15 January. 

The report states as many as 245,000 light and 23,550 rigorous punishments have been served Between 2009 and September 2024.  The police force is also heavily affected by corruption like the other parts of the state.

Five of the nine sectors mentioned by the reform commission as the major source of police corruption involve the force’s institutional works. Bribery and financial corruption is the most common and visible form of corruption in the force.

The police have to be paid bribes at different levels of case proceedings for almost everything, from filing a general diary (GD) to appearing before the trial court.

The report says the second major source of police corruption is torturing the accused in remand. Intimidating the accused of torture to get money from them has become an unofficial rule within the police force.

Recruitment and transfer business has been termed a major source of corruption of the police in the report. Police take bribes from the police for recruitment and transfer. There are reports claiming that some candidates had to pay up to Tk 1 million as bribe for recruitment in the constable post.

The report also mentioned power practice for corruption. Sometimes the police members act recklessly to earn illegal money threatening people to accuse them in false or trumped-up cases.

The practice of bribery among the traffic police has been mentioned as the fifth sector of institutional corruption of the police in the report.

The report also mentioned four non-institutional sources of illegal income for the police. According to the report, the police have “countless provisions”, which means the force is so powerful that it has endless options if it wants to trap anybody or bring somebody under control.

Referring to police extortions, it states police tolls on the roads are a visible corruption. They use printed slips to collect tolls.

The report further says that running a business through illegal makeshift shops on footpaths is a well-known financial sector of the country. The police collect tolls from each shop on footpath as rent daily.

According to Bangladesh Hawkers Federation, around Tk 300 billion is collected every yearly as tolls by the police.

The report termed the collusion between the police and the criminals as an evil nexus. It says a section of the police force maintains contact with the criminals to help run their activities. They take a large sum of money from them in return. There have been several reports alleging involvement of a section of police in illegal arms business.

There have also been reports of targeted arrests in recent times. These people were released in exchange for ransoms. It became an open secret during the rise of incidents like crossfire and enforced disappearances. They conduct illegal searches and detain people and do not release the victim until getting any ransom.

The police reform commission has recommended an all-party committee and a special taskforce to prevent corruption in the force. The all-party committee may have units at thana and upazila levels, which would work as an oversight body at local levels.

Referring to the recommendations on the special taskforce, the report says it is not possible to end corruption in the police overnight. A strong aspiration of people and political desire is needed for that.

Speaking to Prothom Alo, police reform commission chief Safar Raj Chowdhury said, “We stressed on narrowing the gap between police and people and strengthening the police’s relation with them.”

Corruption is the main barrier in this case, he pointed out.

“Therefore, we specified the sectors of corruption and recommended committees including locals to oversee police activities,” he added

* This report appeared on the print and online versions of Prothom Alo and has been rewritten in English by Ashish Basu