The July mass uprising created a rare and historic opportunity to redefine Bangladesh’s administrative system, particularly the civil service and police administration. Yet for ordinary citizens, daily interactions with local police stations and upazila administrations remain a source of fear, humiliation, and financial ruin rather than justice and service.
It is difficult to find a common citizen who has received proper service from these departments. Victims are often harassed, treated with hostility, or compelled to pay bribes simply to have their complaints recorded or get the service from them. In many cases, the bribe demands are so exorbitant that victims are forced to sell land or personal belongings. When the opposing party is wealthy or politically powerful, justice becomes even more elusive. Citizens are left in a cruel quandary: where does one go when those entrusted with justice become the source of injustice? This is not rhetoric – it is the bitter reality of Bangladesh’s civil administration.
Rather than being a friend of the people, the police have long been perceived as an instrument of fear. Over the years, we have witnessed how the police were used to protect authoritarian rule, suppress dissent, and sustain power without popular mandate. Incidents of enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings disguised as ‘crossfire,’ and brutal violence against innocent citizens have deeply eroded public trust.
Ironically, the police are meant to ensure public safety – to create an environment where people can live securely and sleep peacefully. Instead, widespread complaints suggest the opposite: for many citizens, the law enforcers represent risk, not protection.
Against this backdrop, the approval of the Police Commission Ordinance by the Advisory Council of the interim government is a significant and hopeful step. The decision, taken under the leadership of Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus, signals an acknowledgment that policing in Bangladesh requires fundamental reform, not cosmetic change.
According to available information, the proposed Police Commission will be led by a retired Supreme Court judge and include a former Grade-1 civil servant with district administration experience, a retired Additional Inspector General of Police, a university professor, and a human rights and good governance expert with at least 15 years of experience. The composition reflects an effort to balance legal authority, administrative experience, professional policing insight, academic perspective, and human rights expertise.
The Commission’s two core mandates are crucial. First, to investigate and resolve complaints filed by citizens against police misconduct, and second, to address professional grievances and systemic problems faced by police officers themselves.
Beyond complaints handling, the Commission is expected to recommend measures to improve efficiency, discipline, transparency, and accountability; advise on modernisation and training – particularly in human rights sensitivity; review colonial-era policing laws; and propose structural reforms to ensure the police function as a professional, independent, and people-friendly institution.
Experts rightly point out that a colonial, control-oriented mindset still dominates policing in Bangladesh. Political interference has further distorted the force’s role. Past reform promises and legal changes have largely failed because accountability was never genuinely enforced.
This time it must be different. However, police reform alone is not enough. A people-friendly police force cannot exist in isolation within an unreformed civil service. What Bangladesh urgently needs is a clear political commitment to comprehensive civil service reform, ensuring that every tier of administration serves citizens with dignity, fairness, and professionalism.
People should feel relief, not fear, when they walk into a police station or government office. Justice should not depend on wealth, influence, or political connections. If the Police Commission is empowered, independent, and sincere in its mission, it can become a turning point in restoring public trust.
The moment demands courage, consistency, and accountability. The people of Bangladesh deserve nothing less.
The writer is a journalist and political analyst
