For the first time in the police department, the government is going to increase the number of police officers from the post of Sub Inspector (SI) to Additional Deputy Inspector General (DIG) in order to improve the ratio between officers and constables in the country’s main law enforcement agency. At a result, at least 818 posts of police officers including the posts of Additional Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of police, Superintendent of Police (SP), Additional Superintendent of Police, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), Inspectors and Sub Inspectors (SI) would be created soon. At present there are about 40,000 officers, including 4,000 cadre officers in the police department, which makes up a ratio of 25.8. To increase the posts of the police officers, the home ministry is reforming the organisational structures of all the police range offices, metropolitan offices and the Armed Police Battalion (APBN). The home ministry has already prepared 12 different proposals for creating the posts of police officers and these would be sent to the Cabinet Division for approval in the next meeting of the Secretary Committee of Administrative Improvement Affairs.
According to the proposals, the police posts would be created as part of recruiting more than 50,000 policemen that was approved by the Prime Minister on January 11 this year. “The police posts would be created for conducting policing activities in the field with a view to provide required service to the people,” the proposal added.According to the proposals, posts of five Additional DIG of police, 19 posts for SPs, 51 posts for Additional SPs, 61 posts for ASPs, 111 posts for Inspectors and 571 posts for SIs would be created.
Home Minister, Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, told The Independent that they are creating the posts for officers in the police department to rationalise the ratio between the officers and the constables. “We have already recruited a number of constables so far. Now, we have to create posts for officers for better monitoring and strengthening of policing activities,” said the minister before leaving for Europe. Former Inspector General of Police, Enamul Haque, said that the ratio of the officers to constable should be 1:30. “The officers should monitor the policing activities properly with a view of providing service to the people,” he said. Sources in the Home Ministry said 744 police posts in the categories of Sub-Inspector (SI), Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) and constable have already been created recently for improving law and order. Over the past five years, the government created more than 31,000 new posts, including 614 cadre posts in the police force. At present, there are 1,55,000 policemen working in different departments of the police.
On February 8, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina announced that 50,000 people would be appointed in the police force to further improve the law and order situation in the country and to bring all militants and terrorists to book.