Taming rogue policemen

On the heels of unwarranted assault of two public servants by Dhaka Metropolitan Police personnel, the equally deplorable incident of harassment of a businessman and his female friend for extortion money now surfaces. Unfortunately, in all the incidents, prima-facie guilt of the law enforcers appear established as the delinquents have been closed or suspended by the authority.

It is in the background of such eventualities that this writer urges the Inspector General of police to vigorously pursue the criminal case that may be registered against the officer arrested on charges of robbery. Evidence available prima-facie indicates that it should not be difficult to submit a charge sheet in days and help the court in pronouncing on the culpability. If the officer is found guilty, it would not be difficult to dismiss him and thus there would be no scope for a re-entry into the service.

It needs to be borne in mind that the criminal depredations of police have an extremely deleterious implication for the overall image for two important reasons: one, being in uniform, the corrupt policeman immediately catches public attention, and two, since the complainant the police deal with is often a person with a grievance, any corrupt demand imposed on him pains beyond measure.

Police powers can be part of a pattern of discriminatory use against a particular individual or section of the community. If some police officials develop the habit of exercising their powers with regard to only certain sections of the population, or certain individuals, then there is an abuse of power.

Police work is largely discretionary, and although the law gives police powers, it does not make the exercise of these powers mandatory. The law customarily says "any officer may arrest" rather than "any officer must arrest."

The best means for police to improve their image is through the education and personal development of officers and through recruitment of persons of the right standards. The frequently repeated police response that cases of unacceptable behaviour are the work of a few is no longer sufficient to satisfy a sceptical public. The police now, rightly, need to justify the contention that violence and intimidating actions are not the norm for police behaviour.

The development of an ethical code can set a positive standard of behaviour which each enforcement official should strive to attain. A discipline code enforces the minimum standard of acceptable behaviour. An ethical code is a far better basis for improving professional standards as it aims for the best, rather than accepting the barely permissible mediocre.

Police officials need to remember that their misconduct severely pinches, irks, annoys and angers the people and has a lasting tarnishing effect on the public image of the police. The misdeeds of the police point to the ugly shape our contemporary police culture has anyway acquired.

The essence of the issue of police brutality lies in their use of physical force. Just how much force is reasonable and is necessary depends upon the facts of the situation. Police effectiveness, however, has to be sacrificed at the altar of civil liberties in a democratic society.

The question is how can the police insist on irreproachable behaviour from wrongdoers if their own conduct is not above board? Thus public insistence on law observance can be achieved best if the police themselves, as the country's principal law-enforcement agency, set the example of law-abidingness before the citizens by scrupulously observing the law. 

Whatever may be the wrongs which an individual might have been accused of committing, it is not for the police to punish him, for law does not give him any such power. It condemns such actions as serious offences punishable under Sections 330 and 331 of the Bangladesh Penal Code. When a policeman indulges in third degree methods he not only brutalises himself but also degrades himself to the level of a criminal, nay, he compares even less favourably than the criminal in his custody.

A pertinent question is: Whether police's political controllers are really serious to shake off the colonial trappings and keen to create a caring and responsive law enforcement organisation. Shall we see the dawning of realisation that lawless enforcement tarnishes the image of not only the police but also of the government and the state? 

At times, efforts are made to explain away excessive use of force by characterising the delinquent officers as only a few bad apples. This presumption is too simplistic. Excessive use of force is decidedly more complex and multidimensional than the few bad apples' theory would imply.

Officers' personality features represent one element of the problem. Organisational culture and practices are also often responsible for police misconduct. Police deviance is symptomatic of a system-wide problem. The issue and the remedies, quite clearly could not be viewed in isolation.

In Bangladesh, the opportunity cost of being corrupt is very low; if the cost of losing one's job is very low when compared to losing the corruption related money, then the rational choice may be to accept bribes. In such a situation, if extra-departmental aspects replace professional considerations and penalty for deviance becomes ineffective on account of extraneous interference as in the past, there will always be incentives for inefficiency and corruption.

A punishment and reward-based system would be critical to achieving the goal of minimising high-handedness and corruption. A strong accountability mechanism coupled with commensurate compensation policies could be the essential elements of a desirable system.

The writer is a columnist of The Daily Star.