‘Police are the public and the public are the police’: Community policing and countering violent extremism (CVE) in Bangladesh (original) (raw)

Can Community Policing Help Counter Violent Extremism in Bangladesh

Resolve Network Research Paper No. 2, 2017

Community policing in Bangladesh is a potentially effective vehicle to improve security and complement the fight against violent extremism. The Bangladesh police have developed a structure for involving local communities in initiatives to prevent crime and improve security. Program implementation, however, has been experimental, haphazard, and under-resourced. Reports of police abuses and a widespread perception of a lack of accountability amid escalating clashes between police and suspected extremists exacerbate the situation. These factors have combined to limit the effectiveness of community policing as a tool to contain the extremist threat. Despite these challenges, local communities in Bangladesh are concerned about the problem of violent extremism, and many want to help the police. The Bangladesh police need to reconsider their topdown approach to community engagement. Police need to adopt stronger policies to ensure closer alignment of strategies to bolster citizen support for rule of law and tactics to address local violence. They need to work harder to build trust with citizens, including minorities who are often the victims of violent extremism. Community policing needs to be understood not as a formula for the political cooptation of powerful local elites, but as a means to erase the trust deficit between the police and the public at large.

Significance of Community Policing in Bridging Police and People: Bangladesh Context

PSC Journal, 2019

Bangladesh police is the prime organization for maintaining social security and peace. But due to limitations, they face difficulties in addressing social security problems without cooperation from the community people. Community policing, in this regard, is a potentially efficient mechanism for ensuring social security. It is a participative model of policing in which common people work jointly with police to prevent crime and improve security. Realizing its importance, Bangladesh police have introduced this participative model of policing. On this backdrop, this study aims to review the concept of community policing, to explore the state of community policing in Bangladesh and to assess the significance of community policing in bridging police and community people. It is a descriptive type of qualitative research which is mainly based on secondary information collected from secondary sources. This study concludes with the assumption that, as a partnership for change, community policing has a great significance in establishing social security peace and stability, building mutual trust between police and people as well as in combating extremism and militancy.

community policing In Bangladesh

This study attempts to examine the problem and prospects of community policing to trust building in Bangladesh. Community Policing implies that it is a policing strategy and philosophy based on the notion that community interaction and support can help control crime and reduce fear, with community members helping to identify and detain suspects and bring local problems to the attention of police. Community Policing has become a `buzz` word particularly with the law enforcement officials all over the world since the 1980s as an effective tool of prevention of crime, reducing the fear of crime, maintenance of peace & order in the community, identification of criminals and bringing them to justice as the conventional method of Policing has proved to be ineffective in dealing with crimes & criminalities in a fast changing socio-economic order. The study also intends to explore the factors affecting trust building at policing in Bangladesh. Community police officer is the coordinator and trust builders of community policing. He tries to control and prevent crime along with community and mass people’s support and want to establish a crime free society and increase the living standard of community. Study also identified the processes and practices of community policing. The study has found that there have some problems of community policing. Such as lack of funds, lack of training and lack of interest of community police officer etc. It observes that informal communication, direct contact, Supervision and trust have played a very positive role in facilitating community police officer in his performance. The study also identifies that some problem or finding and diagnosis this problems as well as provide rationale recommendation on the basis of problem. Moreover, there was little or no community support & participation in policing due to lack of popular trust & confidence in police based as it was on a colonial model not suitable for a newly independent country. Bangladesh Police is a typical centralized and highly bureaucratic organization which inherited a colonial structure and culture established by an Act of 1861. Under this Act police forces were not accountable to anyone except their own hierarchy and the political and administrative executives. But community policing demands the police organization to be more accountable to the community than to the police hierarchy. Public security in Bangladesh has deteriorated in recent years due to the absence of trust and understanding between police and citizens. The Community-Oriented Policing (COP) programed, through a variety of activities that promote cooperation and trust between citizens and the police, has fostered collaboration and greater public security in three pilot cities. The impact of this project has increased the commitment and confidence of citizens, government, and the police in community-oriented policing as a vital part of improving public security. Considering the success of community policing in the Western World, police department in Bangladesh began to experiment with community policing strategy. In Bangladesh the objectives of community policing are to (i) minimize the gap between the citizens and the police, (ii) raise public awareness, (iii) keep the people away from committing crime, (iv) build citizens’ trust on the police, (v) rehabilitate criminals, and (vi) strengthen the rule of law and establish good governance.

COMMUNITY POLICING IN BANGLADESH: PHILOSOPHY AND PRACTICES

COMMUNITY POLICING IN BANGLADESH: PHILOSOPHY AND PRACTICES, 2014

Community Policing is an alternative method of proactive policing and strategy of Bangladesh police. The core philosophy of community policing is to establish a peaceful community life by collaborative efforts between police and community. The present study is intended to evaluate the community policing in Bangladesh in regarding its philosophy. Secondary data source have been used to fulfill the objective of the study. Descriptive and qualitative methods have been used to describe the data. The study revealed that community policing had been practiced in our territory in different ways from early period to present days. But in modern forms community policing was introduced firstly in 1990, Mymensing district in Bangladesh. At present community policing has been practicing in different districts in Bangladesh without considering the actual philosophical aspects of community policing such as community partnership, organizational change and problem solving. To ensure safety and security of community as well as maintain law and order of society the philosophical aspect should be considered for implementing effective community policing in Bangladesh.

Community Policing in Bangladesh: Issues and Challenges

Police in the Contemporary Society, 2017

Human Resources Management. Published a good number of papers for her credit and participated in number of national and international conferences, training programmes, seminars etc. Prof. A. Sethuramasubbiah PhD possesses a Masters" degree in Social Work and also in Sociology. He was awarded PhD degree by the University of Madras for his doctoral research on child labor rehabilitation through transit schools in Chennai. Before joining academic stream, he has served as an executive in private manufacturing units. With a rich experience gained in the industry in the area of HR and his passion towards teaching profession made him to join Tamilnadu institute of labor studies run by the Department of labor, Government of Tamilnadu and has served for about seventeen years in the capacity as senior Faculty. held at Tokiwa University, Mito, Japan. He has put up 7+ years of teaching experience, which includes teaching the post graduate level courses in Criminology, Psychology, Human Rights and Duties Education. He has published his writings as research papers (30) in the form of articles in reputed national, international journals, chapters in books and also in conference proceedings. He has presented nearly 40 research papers in national, international seminars and conferences. He has membership in the academic societies associated to Criminology, Victimology, Women Studies etc. Presently his domain focus of academic interest is on the interdisciplinary approach of Criminology and Victimology with Human Rights of Vulnerable such as women, children, senior citizens, etc., and Women Studies.

Social Inclusivity in Security Governance: the Case of Community Policing in Bangladesh

Bandung Journal of the Global South, 2023

This paper aims to examine the dynamics of social inclusivity of the local people in the civil security governance of Bangladesh with a particular reference to the functions of community policing in the urban areas of the state. The broader framework of the sdg 16 informs the conceptual analysis of this paper-promoting peaceful and inclusive societies in establishing local ownership and an inclusive and improved security situation through community policing in Bangladesh. The empirical discussions in this paper include the findings of in-depth interviews with the civilian members of the community policing forums and members of the local police stations. The discussion aims to highlight-how and in what ways the community policing system, both forums and officers in police stations, has adopted an inclusive framework to ensure the participation of local community citizens. Furthermore, the discussion also highlights the challenges of including locals and civil society organisations in the security governance of the state. Finally, this paper argues that political patronage is a critical factor obstructing social inclusivity in the community policing system.

The Problem and Prospects of Community Policing to Trust Building in Bangladesh

Fighting Religious Terrorism in Bangladesh: Are Crime Prevention Strategies Fundamental?

Terrorism has been commonly seen as a dominant means of conflict in primitive wars where unilateral violence has been used to conquer one’s territory and control the discordant society within a dictatorship. Lately, this definition is unlikely to get fitted in the new world order. The attacks on World Trade Centre on 9/11 literally changed the entire world- President Bush declaring ‘war on terror’, and rhetoric such as ‘either you are with us or against us’ divided the entire world. Terrorism has been now labeled as the systematic internal or external violence and intimidation practiced by organized terrorists. However the last decade witnessed a transformation of the definition and patterns of terrorism, both domestically and internationally. This virulent form of conflict poses threats on national security, economic and political stability and democratic pluralism of a country. Terrorism hence has also been emerged as one of the daunting problems in Bangladesh. The last few years are marked by a series of intermittent and deadly terrorist attacks in Bangladesh. In addition to the mainstream political groups such as Jamaat-e-Islami, some extremist religious organizations have come into existence under political patronage. Harkrat–ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HUJI), Jamaat-Ul Mujahideen in Bangladesh (JMB), Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh (JMJB), Hizb ut-Tahrir are common religious militants’ outfits in Bangladesh, mostly officially banned by the government. Though the form or pattern of terrorism in Bangladesh is many and multi-dimensional, terrorist’s bomb attacks on political leaders and a series of deaths by religious militants at large have contributed to create fear and anxiety across the country. Taking advantage of the political unrest, Islamist militants groups have started offering Islamic Khilafat as a viable alternative to the democratic order. The more the mainstream political leaders indulge in corruption, nepotism and mendacity, the more the Islamists are becoming vocal to present themselves as the ideal leaders capable of bringing about positive changes in the society. The rise of religious extremism leading to terrorism in Bangladesh therefore has a lot to do with the failure of political leadership. Nonetheless many militant groups were found to have networks within the country as well as around the world in order to realise their initial aim i.e., to set up Islamic regime in Bangladesh. The Islamist extremist organizations for examples, JMB and HUJI though are not so much on the radar screen now since most of their leadership were either prosecuted and hanged or awarded long term prison sentences, they might be regrouping often under new nomenclature. Bangladesh government has initiated the Anti-Terrorism Act, 2009 with increased number of punishments in order to eliminate violent religious terrorism. It has moreover developed inter-ministerial cooperation in relation to complement the legal framework of countering terrorism. Howbeit, crime prevention initiatives reduce the risk of individual criminal participation and the rate of victimization, as well as change perceptions, no comprehensive crime prevention actions have yet to develop to combat religious terrorism in Bangladesh. Against this background, the paper seeks to explore the current pattern of religious terrorism and counter-terrorism laws in Bangladesh. The paper also argues on few methods of crime prevention and urges to adopt comprehensive crime prevention strategies with a view to combating religious terrorism in Bangladesh.

Violent Extremism in Bangladesh: Understanding threat level and opportunity structure

Starting with the 'Udichi' bomb blast in 1999 and ending with the Holy Artisan attack in 2016 in Dhaka, the impact of the events of 9/11 and the subsequent US-led global war on terrorism and the continuous operational drive by the law enforcement agencies, where does Bangladesh stand in terms of understanding threat level? What we learn from the anti-Militant Operations 'Twilight' in Sylhet, 'Hit Back' and 'Maximus' in Moulvibazar and subsequent recovery of huge stash of Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs)? How does violent narrative evolved in Bangladesh? Has the risk of extremism diminished or increased? Have the plans and abilities of radical groups to conduct terrorist acts reduced or increased? What is the level of threat in Bangladesh? As stated in various literature, the probability of the extremist threat is high in Bangladesh. The existence of the threat groups and evidence of their activities are noticeable in the country. Due to the continuous drive by the law and security forces, the extremist groups are moving in slow pace. But the security forces have been strategically, operationally and tactically challenged by the new techniques and technology of extremism. Many banned militant groups are still regrouping by changing their names and operation techniques. In such a context, this paper aims to address the threat level and opportunity structure in Bangladesh. What should be the way out to face such ideologically motivated challenges? Owing to the multi-dimensionality of the problem, it is critically important to explore a viable and effective strategy incorporating short-term, medium-term and long-term goals. The short-term goals include finding out the extremist groups' hideouts, exposing groups' motives, targets, command, control and support infrastructure, responding effectively, efficiently and rapidly by security forces in arresting and bringing them under law, profiling extremist individuals, groups and cases by gathering critical information. The medium-term goals include running an effective oversight and security system, increasing coordination among law enforcement agencies, service sectors, and social forces in order to create an all-inclusive security environment in the country. The long-term measures should be preventive in nature. It is necessary to take a whole of society approach against violent extremism. Corruption should be addressed on priority basis so that it cannot provide opportunity to further rise in violent extremism. The policy makers should address what are the rhetorical violent narratives available and how to promote counter narratives in the society. The promotion of non-violent strategies and actors could be and options against violent extremism in Bangladesh.

Can you use community policing for counter terrorism? Evidence from NSW, Australia

A contested question in the international policing literature is whether it is possible to undertake effective anti-terrorism community policing. The NSW Police Force’s Counter Radicalisation Strategy involved a community engagement initiative that used community liaison officers, mostly working with Sydney Muslim communities. This study reviews the success of this initiative, drawing on data from a survey of Sydney Muslims. The community engagement initiative was found to have direct contact with the community, it was public, and it involved aspects of partnership and relations of depth. For these reasons, the initiative was within the community policing paradigm. There was strong community awareness of the programme, and a majority saw it as successful. There remained pockets of community suspicion and critique, which require attention. The respondents recommended an enhancement of the community policing aspects: more (and wider) contact, visibility and partnership. The findings affirm the utility of community policing for counter-terror work.

‘Police are the public and the public are the police’: Community policing and countering violent extremism (CVE) in Bangladesh (original) (raw)

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