Annual Report - Police Reform Programme

Police Reform Programme
(Phase-II)
CRIME PREVENTION AND COMMUNITY POLICING
Key Outcome: Greater trust and interaction between the community and police, resulting in
improved access to justice and human rights in addition to a reduced fear of crime
Key Activities and Progress:
Output 4.1: Community policing philosophy integrated into policing operations
The PRP assisted the Bangladesh Police in organizing four divisional
and community consultations in Sylhet, Rajshahi, Barisal and Khulna.
These divisional consultations increased awareness on the community
policing philosophy and improved cooperation between the police and
the community.
The PRP supported the establishment of an additional sixty-seven
Community Policing Units, bringing the total number up to 277
Community Policing Units nationally. These Units serve as the focal point for coordinating and
monitoring community policing forums and crime prevention programs at the local level. The PRP is
now in the process of procuring furniture for these newly established Units.
Four ToT courses were conducted, involving seventy-two police officers from Model Thanas. The
objective of the course was to provide the assigned trainers with the skills to deliver presentations at
Model Thana training programmes on providing effective services to the public, collecting and
protecting evidence from crime scenes, registering General Diaries and First Information Reports and
developing partnerships with the community. ToT participants commenced the facilitation of training to
personnel serving in Model Thanas.
Twenty-seven students from ten schools in Khulna participated in an
art competition organized by the Khulna Range of the Bangladesh
Police with PRP support. Through this initiative, the local police force
has improved relations with the community it serves and has provided
students with a platform to learn basic traffic rules and regulations in
terms of crossing roads and highways on their way to school.
The PRP supported three awareness raising programmes in
Bandarban, Khulna and Cox's Bazaar on road safety during Traffic
Week. The programmes included orientation, discussions on road safety for students and teachers
and a display of road signs at different schools and colleges. Nineteen schools participated in the
Bandarban program while the Cox's Bazaar program included developing leaflets on traffic awareness,
school orientation and driver's orientation. The leaflets were distributed at the town's bus terminal and
five schools were included in the road safety orientation initiative.
During 2012, the PRP conducted a Rapid Evaluation of directly funded CPFs. The evaluation's
objective was first to measure the extent to which PRP direct financial support is in compliance with
the guidelines and second to gauge the impact of the support compared with unsupported CPFs. The
findings indicated that financial support created a notable impact on CPF activities. Patterns in
categories such as identifying local criminals and solving local crimes, type of activities, and quality of
work in pilot areas were distinctly superior to those in unsupported unions. The assessment also found
that CPC members in supported areas are generally more satisfied with community policing than
members in unsupported areas. The PRP has already begun implementing the report's
recommendations and expects PRP's activities to continue contributing to ensuring the CPF's
effectiveness and sustainability.
Annual Report 2012
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