Bangladesh
| Author | George Kurian |
| Pages | 193-195 |
Page 193
Official country name: People's Republic of Bangladesh
Capital: Dhaka
Geographic description: Part of the Plain of Bengal at the end of the Indo-Gangetic Plain
Population: 144,319,628 (est. 2005)
The foundation of the Bangladesh police administration is the Police Act of 1861, which created a provincial police under the control of an inspector general in each of the territories ruled by the British in the Indian subcontinent. It was supplemented by the Criminal Procedure Act of 1898 and the Police Regulations of Bengal of 1943, both of which continued to remain in force after the departure of the British in 1947, and the creation of the republic of Bangladesh in 1972. But it was not until 1976 that a metropolitan police force was established in Dhaka, the capital. This was followed by the introduction of a metropolitan police force at Chittagong in 1978. A number of committees and commissions helped to broaden and streamline police functions, particularly during the 25 years that Bangladesh was part of Pakistan. These include the Shahabuddin Committee of 1953, the Hatch Barnwell Committee of 1956, the Committee on the Increase of Force in Dhaka and Narayanganj of 1957, the Constantine Commission of 1960–1961, and the Mitha Commission of 1969. The War of Independence took a heavy toll on the number and morale of the police force. As a result, the force was expanded and reconfstituted and its training facilities were modernized in the 1970s.
The Bangladesh Police is headed by an inspector general of police, who reports to the Ministry of Home Affairs. Below the headquarters level, the force is organized by districts and divisions. Police officers are categorized as gazetted or subordinate—roughly analogous to the commissioned and noncommissioned officers in the military. The subordinate grades are further classified into upper and lower categories.
The top four gazetted police grades, in descending order, are:
inspector general
deputy inspector general
superintendent
assistant superintendent
Page 194
Upper subordinate grades:
inspector
subinspector
assistant subinspector
Lower subordinate grades:
head constable
constable
The inspector general supervises staff departments concerned with criminal investigation...
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