CONTRARY to its public image and performance in silencing the opposition Dhaka Metropolitan Police [DMP] performance is not so well in curbing the genuine nonpolitical crimes such as killing and robberies in the city. A news report in The New Nation on Tuesday reaffirmed the fact by quoting the Police Department’s official website. It said nineteen persons were killed and seventeen were abducted within DMP zone alone in January 2014. What is additionally concerning is a similar rise in so-called non political atrocities that included 19 robberies, 6 acts of theft, 53 burglaries and 183 incidences of thefts in the same month. In February, the number of murders in the DMP zone was 16 — three less than that of the previous month. However, abductions increased by one to make it 18. At the same time, there were 54 burglaries, 164 thefts, 20 robberies and 4 acts of larceny in the month.
Moreover apart from Upazila elections related violence, more organized crimes were also committed in the Dhaka Range in January and February this year. Statistics made available by NUMBEO-a non-government organization– said the incidence of crimes in the metropolis is 78.95 percent higher this time over last year and it increased by 73.68 percent annually over the past three years. This is awfully alarming. We are really confused by this higher rate and wonder what the DMP is actually doing to reign in the situation. In the latest incident, police on Sunday arrested four members of a high income family, including a mother and her son from the city’s Banani area and recovered narcotics, arms and such other stolen goods. They are also involved with a gang of car lifters.
Statistics showed out of the country’s five metropolitan cities, the highest number of 8662 crimes were committed in DMP area last year. There are 17 districts under Dhaka Range where crimes are also exponentially rising. As we see, the DMP area has become the largest den of criminals as fugitives are taking shelter in the city and city police spokespersons made no secret of it pointing to a host of reasons for it. In fact, sprawling slums, floating population, extortionists and reckless party cadres are working together to make the city highly unsafe.
There is no doubt; the capital is more vulnerable to crimes than any other city in Bangladesh. But what is not consistent with the common logic is that why a police force so “omnipotent” in crushing opposition political parties, is miserably failing to prevent crimes affecting the everyday life of city dwellers. In fact, as we know the number of reported crimes in the city is much more than what the DMP statistics showed or the NGO disclosure made public. This is because in many cases victims’ families avoid reporting it to police fearing further harassment at police stations or physical assaults, attacks on their home or the lifting of their children on the way to or from schools.
As we see, police always blame lack of logistic or enough force to curb the rising crimes, but allegations of a tacit nexus between the goons and a section of police are also widespread to partly explain why the city is becoming the biggest home to criminals. We hold the view that police must refocus on fighting criminals rather running after political opponents of the government. Moreover we ask the authorities to re-establish its command and control over the forces to bring peace and security to the city.
We suggest most strongly that police must be freed from politics, and they must be allowed to curb crime which is their main responsibility. If police is used as a political force of the government to remain in power, then it will be of no help to the people. When police is politically used then crimes go freely. The police also becomes involved in crimes.
