Public Perception Regarding the Efficiency of Bangladesh Police: Quest for a New Paradigm

The present day Bangladesh police owe much to the colonial legacy of the British in terms of its structure, functions and regulatory mechanisms. It is the key institution for law enforcement at the internal level of the country with the responsibility for ensuring security of citizens and their properties, maintaining peace and also dealing with crime in the society. However, there have been concerns echoed about the performance of Bangladesh Police from both media and previous studies. Recently the government has initiated some reform initiatives for modernization of police force. In this backdrop, this exploratory study seeks to understand the current perception of public regarding the efficiency of Bangladesh Police and also attempts to know whether Bangladesh Police needs a paradigmatic shift or should it follow its ongoing trend in rendering its services. The study applied both qualitative and quantitative methods for data collection. The study found that despite recent changes introduced for improving the performance of Bangladesh Police, it suffers from high levels of inefficiency. Different transitional societies have transformed their law enforcement agencies adopting new policing models (democratic policing) in particular. This study offers a modest suggestion to the policy makers for making the same paradigmatic shift which if properly implemented would lead to a cycle of good policing.