Police must step up amid rising crime

The latest antidote being mulled by police to rising crime in Dhaka is expanding the central monitoring system of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) by incorporating private CCTV cameras. According to a report by this daily, the DMP plans to incorporate around 50,000 such devices initially. Eventually, the goal is to bring the whole capital under the CCTV network. As part of that initiative, the DMP has already started to reach out to area-based housing societies, apartment cooperatives, individual households and businesses, requesting them to upgrade their CCTV cameras so that those can supply live feed with 11 specialised features like face detection, vehicle number plate tracing, etc.

We commend this initiative which comes amid concerns over rising crime in Dhaka. With the patterns of criminal behaviour changing thanks to technology, the police too should adapt and change their tactics. Early results from the CCTV initiative are said to have been encouraging, especially in terms of combating petty crimes. Currently, the DMP has about 680 CCTVs of its own. There are also 625 CCTVs under the Dhaka South City Corporation. Clearly, there is a need for more given the challenge posed by the massive number of people who live and work here. Police already can use CCTV footage from private establishments in case of investigations, but access to live feed from all available CCTVs in the city can help with preventing crimes. It can also generally boost their crime-fighting chances.

There are, however, a few concerns that should be addressed for this initiative to work. Firstly, its limited scope. Such an undertaking may not work in slums and poorer neighbourhoods where most households can ill-afford expensive technology like CCTV. The DMP must ensure that it is not seen as discriminatory in combating crimes. Also, why are the authorities not installing more CCTVs of their own to support the initiative? Public funding is vital for this to deliver expected results.

Secondly, its reliance on voluntary public support. In its effort to broaden the CCTV network, the DMP is relying heavily on private individuals, which comes with the challenge of earning their trust in the first place. The question is, have the police been able to do so? Can they be trusted to respect their privacy? More importantly, can the DMP prevent any misuse of the initiative? What chance does this have of succeeding if the police authorities fail to use feed from private CCTVs properly or establish accountability for errant cops who continue to give the force a bad name? These concerns are quite valid at this stage. Over the years, we have seen how members of the police force frequently got involved in various crimes including murder, extortion and so on through various covert and overt means.

So while we think that the latest DMP initiative is a step in the right direction, its success will depend a lot on how sincere and proactive the police are in combatting crimes. We urge the police to step up their game under the present circumstances. They must show their integrity, honesty, neutrality and professionalism at all times.