Police commission must to free the force from political influence: Adviser Sakhawat

Shipping Adviser Brig Gen (retd) M Sakhawat Hossain has emphasised the need for constituting a commission to free the police force from political influence.

"If we want to transform the police force into a clean and politically neutral organisation, it should be humanised through the formation of a commission," said Sakhawat, who began his tenure as home affairs adviser in early August and was later reassigned to the portfolios of textile and shipping.

Addressing a seminar today, he suggested that the commission should consist of five members, headed by a senior judge, and that the police recruitment process should be overseen and confirmed by the commission.

"After the fall of the Awami League government, the police went on strike and raised nine demands. Among these, the first was the formation of a police commission," the adviser said at a discussion titled "Necessity of Formation of Police Commission to Ensure People-oriented Police Service" at North South University, organised by the South Asian Institute of Policy and Governance of the university.

"They know that the existing law has used the police for party work. If the police commission is not formed, the police will again fall under political control. That's why this demand came from the police. Therefore, it is very important to form a police commission."

Pointing out that the three-tier recruitment system has created a bureaucratic attitude among policemen, he suggested that the police recruitment process should be conducted in two tiers.

He also emphasised that, to reduce the distance between senior and subordinate officers, assistant superintendents should be given responsibility after at least one year of working at police stations alongside in-charge officers following their training.

Pointing out that the police were involved in massive irregularities and corruption in the past, he said, "In the last 15 years, there has been a trade of Tk1 lakh for each general police posting and Tk1 crore for the transfer of an OC. If this is the case, then what else can be expected in this situation?"

As a result, the adviser emphasised that there is no alternative to an independent police commission to transform the police into an ideological force. He also stressed that the police should be more engaged with the public.

North South University Law Department Professor Md Rizwanul Islam and Political Science and Sociology Department Assistant Professor Ishrat Zakia Sultan presented a possible roadmap for police reform and a proposed police commission plan.

They noted that public trust in the police was 45% in 2015, but it dropped to just 11.1% in 2024. The police force is now seen not as a force to protect public safety and human rights but as a tool for achieving political interests.

The professors further pointed out that public confidence has been shattered by incidents of brutality, disappearances, and suppression of dissent. This has highlighted the need for comprehensive reforms to transform the police force into a professional, public service organisation.

Outlining the structure of the proposed police commission, they said it would include representatives from the judiciary, human rights organisations, the administration, police officers, Chattogram Hill Tracts, journalists, and youth societies."

Moderated by Professor Sheikh Tawfiq M Haque, director of the institute, the seminar featured panel speakers including Nationalist Democratic Movement Chairman Bobby Hajjaj, former home secretary and adviser to BNP chairperson SM Zahirul Islam, and Additional IG of Police Mahbub ul Karim, among others.