Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has vowed to build a world-standard ‘Smart Police’ force good at knowledge, science and technology, urging the law enforcement agency to work for upholding people's trust and confidence achieved through services.
"Our target is to build an efficient and world standard "Smart Police" capable in knowledge, science and technology," she said while inaugurating in-person the Police Week-2023 in the capital's Rajarbagh Police Lines, after a gap of two years due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
She expressed her heartfelt greetings to the police for their pro-people service and asked them to keep up the good deeds.
She also urged the law enforcers to maintain people's confidence in the police, hoping that the police would be a friendly force as envisioned by Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
The premier said, “You (police personnel) will serve the people inspired with the utmost humanitarian perspective”.
She said her government is set to purchase two Russian helicopters to make the police a three-dimensional force alongside working to establish a separate aviation wing for it.
"We have already taken measures to buy two helicopters from Russia to make the police as three-dimensional force and a process is going on to form a separate aviation unit (of it)," she said.
The premier inspected the parade of the Bangladesh Police by riding on an open jeep and took the salute.
She later handed over Bangladesh Police Medal (BPM) Bravery, President Police Medal (PPM) Bravery, BPM-Service and PPM-Service to 117 police officials for making the police proud by setting an exemplary standard of bravery in the year 2022.
Of them, 17 police officials received the BPM-Bravery and 25 got the PPM-Bravery while 25 got BPM Service and 50 got the PPM-Service awards.
Different police contingents staged a spectacular parade to mark the police week.
On her arrival at the venue, the premier was received by Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan, Public Security Division Senior Secretary Md. Aminul Islam Khan and Inspector General of Police (IGP) Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun.
Cabinet members, parliament members and senior government officials were present. At the outset of the programme, the national anthem was played.
Sheikh Hasina said her government is working to build a developed and prosperous "Sonar Bangladesh" free from hunger and poverty by 2041 upholding the status of a developing nation.
"That Bangladesh will be Smart Bangladesh in knowledge, science and technology. The digital devices will be used in everything such as our business, trade, education and health,” she said.
Bangladesh Police would be built in a smarter way by giving them education on science and technology and proper training, she added.
The prime minister also alerted the police about conspiracies being hatched against Bangladesh.
"There are many conspiracies against Bangladesh, as plots have started hatching when Bangladesh advances towards prosperity," she said, referring to the August 15, 1975 carnage, killing her father, mother, and brothers including her 10 years old youngest brother.
She thanked the then officer-in-charge of Ramna Police Station as he took prompt measures to send the injured to the hospital, for which, her paternal aunt and two of her paternal cousins survived.
The prime minister recalled the courageous role of police risking their lives to tackle the arson terrorism of the BNP-Jamaat clique in 2013-2015 in the name of hartals and strikes that saw 3500 burn injuries and 500 deaths.
Police had successfully broken the root of the militant organisations following the Holy Artisan incident which has brightened the country's image globally, she said, adding that police are also successfully checking the smuggling and human trafficking.
She also highly praised the police as they particularly the women members of the force have achieved global fame for their professional and sincere work in the United Nations missions.
After the 1975 massacre, she said none can think that the Awami League will assume power, but by the grace of Allah, her party has been in power for four terms, three in a row.
"Bangladesh has attained the status of a developing nation as we have been in power for a long period. We have been able to work for every institution including the Bangladesh Police," she said.
The prime minister said her government never let go in vain of the blood of millions of martyrs by allowing Bangladesh to be a failed state.
She said Bangladesh has to march ahead keeping the pace of development despite the world going through an economic recession.
Sheikh Hasina reiterated her call to grow more food, bringing every inch of land under cultivation as Bangladesh could not be hit by the global recession and food crisis.
"You all have to grow something or other at your working places as Bangladesh never has to face global economic meltdown and food crisis," she said.
Briefly describing her government measures for ensuring the overall development of the police, she said they had increased the allocation for them in the budget to Tk 800 crore from Tk 400 crore, after assuming office for the first time in 1996.
She said they have made sure to ration for all the police personnel including the retired ones and introduced risk allowances alongside promoting a female police officer to the superintendent of police (SP) in 1998.
The premier said they have built a Police Welfare Trust by giving Tk 50 million as seed money and established the Police Staff College in 2000.
She said they have built 25 police stations, 86 investigation centres, 58 highway police outposts, and 150 police camps alongside appointing 803 sub-inspectors, 507 sergeants, and 14,680 constables during her first tenure 1996-2001 period.
After assuming power for three consecutive terms since 2009, she said her government had taken various measures to turn Bangladesh into a self-dependent state and Bangladesh Police as modern, people-friendly.
She said they have increased the posts for grade-1 and 2 to solve the problem of promotion.
They have built Police Bureau Investigation (PBI), Tourist Police, River Police, Special Security and Protection Battalion, Industrial Police, Anti-Terrorism Unit (ATU) and Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime Unit (CTTC) while two battalions of the armed police and one battalion of the RAB in Rohingya camps to ensure their security, she said.
The prime minister said that DNA Labs, Automated Finger Print Identification System (AFIS) and modern forensic labs have been established in police, adding that such labs would be built in every division in future.
Mentioning that cybercrimes have appeared as a big problem across the globe, she said a complete cyber police unit will be formed soon.
The prime minister said they have taken measures to develop the Central Police Hospital and build divisional police hospitals, adding that a step has already been taken to build a divisional hospital in Dhaka.