


































Microsoft Word - Police ethics (2)


Bangladesh Journal of Bioethics 2020; 11 (1): 9-23 

 

 

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Policing Ethics: Context Bangladesh 

 

Md.Sharifur Rahman Adil  
 
Lecturer of Philsophy, Feni South East Degree College. Bangladesh 
Email: adil.doc.info@gmail.com    
 

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3329/bioethics.v11i1.49192  

 

Abstract: The police are one of the most powerful and important forces for any country. The main task 

of the police is to install a sense of security in the ordinary citizens and to protect their life and property 

when they are in danger. Bangladeshi Police have a glorious past with tremendous achievement. 

Especially in our great liberation war in 1971, they played an important role in achieving our liberation. 

Eliminating terrorism & militancy and others several operation that leads with the risk of their life. But 

there are still a lot of accusations against the police force. Like- abusing of power, misconducting with the 

people, committing crossfire defying the high-court order, wearing white dress when they move to  detain 

criminals, arresting without warrant, and many other including bribery, extortion, trading drug and yaba, 

playing partisan role, keeping bad association, filing case against deceased man, charging sheet against 

the infant who has not been born yet,  enforcing disappearance, suppressing the freedom of express,  

violating human rights, doing anti-social activities such as rape, forcible extortion, drinking alcohol, etc. 

are the real scenario of Bangladesh Police. Policing ethics or related unethical behaviors, in particular, are 

shaped by both societal perceptions and organizational socialization of the police personnel on how 

authority should be exercised, as well as the latter's relationship with the socio-political and economic 

structures overtime. This paper proposes to explain the role of police as the main law enforcement agency 

in any democratic country.  An attempt has been made to bring different perspectives of ethics which 

comprises views of Aristotle, Machiavelli, Immanuel Kant, J S Mill and John Rawls. The paper focuses 

on police ethics. Police ethics’ reflects the society and the regulations that shape the policing system. This 

paper also discuss the results and analysis of the consequences of moral degradation caused by the police. 

This article explore the police brutality because of the lack of ethics and highlight the public's attitude 

towards police as well. The ethical standards and the code of conduct of Police practitioners should 

actually abide by is an ongoing debate. 

 
Key Word:   Ethics, Applied ethics, Police, Policing Ethics 
 

Introduction: The police are one of the 
most omnipresent organizations of the 
country. The police are expected to be the 
most accessible, interactive and dynamic 
organization of any society. Their roles, 
functions and duties in the society are 
natural to be varied and multifarious on the 
one ihand; and complicated, knotty and 
complex on the other hand. Broadly 
speaking the twin roles, the police are 
expected to play in a society are 

maintenance of law and order. To establish a 
conflict free society, in any type of 
governance, the law enforcing agencies, 
especially the institution of Police play a 
vital role in the implementation of the law 
and order dicta as envisioned either by the 
Constitution, Executive, Legislature or 
Judiciary. Once, the slogan of the police was 
– `Service is the religion of Police’. But now 
the police slogan is - `People are police, 
police are people ‘.The duty of the police is 



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to install a sense of security in the ordinary 
citizens, and to protect the life and property 
of the citizens when they are in danger. If 
the police fail to perform this duty, they are 
held accountable as per the law of the 
country. But the scenario of Bangladeshi 
Police is totally different. Now we often 
hear about police involving various 
unethical, Illegal, unsocial, muscle power, 
abuse of power and immoral activities in 
order to provide the security1. Ethics can 
play a vital role to prevent such unethical 
and immoral activities of police. It’s time to 
shout for policing ethics. Because we know 
that – every man is equal in the eye of law 
and no one can remain above law. So, the 
police are no exception. As a main law 
enforcement agency police should be 
morally sound. 
 

Methodology: The methodology adopted 
for the study is doctrinal and non doctrinal. 
The Doctrinal research which is based on 
primary and secondary sources, like books, 
journals, magazines, Newspapers, articles 
and websites. Non doctrinal research 
includes the data collection through the 
questionnaire, interview question, and 
observation method. 
 

Applied Ethics: Police ethics is a branch of 
applied ethics. The most well-known 
branches of applied ethics are medical and 
business ethics.  Applied ethics is the field 
that holds ethical theory accountable to 
practice and professional practice 
accountable to theory. Therefore, the 
philosophers should not dictate to 
professionals the norms that are supposed to 
govern their professional practice, without a 
very thorough knowledge of that practice. 
On the other hand, the professionals have to 
under-stand that their experience and 
intuition are insufficient for defensible 
judgment, and that all their constraints do 

not exempt their decisions from ethical 
scrutiny2. 
 

Ethics: Policing ethics consist of two 
separate words Policing and ethics. First I 
will discuss ethics and then I will discuss the 
Police. However, Ethics is a branch of 
Philosophy. Ethics involves systematizing, 
defending, and recommending concepts of 
right and wrong conduct3. Ethics derives 
from the Ancient Greek word ἠθικός 
ethikos, which is derived from the word 
ἦθος ethos (habit, “custom”) The Ancient 
Greek adjective êthikos is itself derived 
from another Greek word, the noun êthos 
meaning “character, disposition4. As a 
branch of philosophy, ethics investigates the 
questions “What is the best way for people 
to live?" and “What actions are right or 
wrong in particular circumstances?" In 
practice, ethics seeks to resolve questions of 
human morality, by defining concepts such 
as good and evil, right and wrong, virtue and 
vice, justice and crime. Bioethicist Larry 
Churchill has written: “Ethics, understood as 
the capacity to think critically about moral 
values and direct our actions in terms of 
such values, is a generic human capacity”5. 
“Joe has strange ethics.” The English word 
ethics is derived from an Ancient Greek 
word êthikos, which means “relating to 
one’s character”. The Ancient Greek 
adjective êthikos is itself derived from 
another Greek word, the noun êthos 
meaning “character, disposition”.  Finally, 
we can say Ethics" is a system or code of 
conduct based on universal moral duties and 
obligations that indicate how one should 
behave. Lillie an author said about nature of 
ethics-“We may define ethics as a normative 
science of the conduct of human beings 
living in societies- a science which judges 
this conduct to be right or wrong, to be good 
or bad, or in same similar way”6.  
  



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Police: The police are those who are the 
members of a government organization 
which is responsible for enforcing law and 
maintaining peace and order, prevention and 
detection of crime. The Police are one of the 
major components of the criminal justice 
system. Police officers are well aware of 
rules and regulations. However, some 
officers do not pay respect to all the rules 
and regulations, with some being ignored 
while some are strictly adhered too. Some 
rules are treated as advisory, whilst others 
are treated as binding. 
 

Policing Ethics: A pragmatic exploration of 
police ethics is necessary to effectively 
inculcate the values in the decision making 
processes of police officers. This does not 
mean that philosophical issues should be 
ignored but that they are placed in a 
utilitarian perspective7. 

According to Schmalleger, Police ethics is 
the special responsibility for adhering to 
moral duty and obligation that is inherent in 
police work8. 
 
In the 1700s Immanuel Kant, a German 
philosopher developed the idea of the 
categorical imperative. Here ‘categorical 
’means unconditional. According to him, 
one should develop such principles that will 
hold good both for himself and society at 
large. Kant’s ideas have been used in the 
development of Policing ethics. Police 
maintain the law and order and protect the 
life and property of the citizens know can be 
regarded as universal principles J.S. Mill, an 
English philosopher of the 1800s called it 
“Greatest Happiness Principle, ethical 
behavior according to him is that which is 
useful to the society at large. For 
utilitarianism, Aristotle’s golden mean and 
Machiavelli’s end justifies means stands 
right only if those principles promote the 
greatest good of the greatest number of 
people. The utilitarian principle holds good 

in the light of happiness and bad in course of 
its reverse. Rawl’s, a modern American 
philosopher opines that everybody must be 
treated equally without any regard for 
economic and social status. He needs to treat 
the rich the same way as the poor, the 
famous person the same way as the layman 
on the street. These philosophical 
considerations would help us to understand 
the concept of ‘Policing ethics.’ 
  
Duty of Police: Every organization must 
have specific purposes, commitments, aims, 
and goals. These are included in the mission 
statement of the organization. The mission 
of the police is as follows:  
1. Prevention and detection of crime  
2. Protection of life and property of the 
citizens through enforcement of law  
3. Preservation of peace, order, and safety  
4. Enforcement of laws and ordinances  
5. Safeguarding of constitutional guarantees  
6. Investigating problems and incidents  
7. Enhancement of the quality of life of the 
citizens by fostering a sense of security in 
communities and individuals  
The mission of the police cannot be 
achieved without the involvement of the 
community in the policy agenda. 
Community policing ensures the 
involvement of the community and 
promotes the culture among the police and 
community to work together  
 
Robert Peel set forth the following 
principles on which the police force should 
be based:  
1. The duty of the police is to prevent crime 
and disorder.  
2. The power of the police to fulfill their 
duties is dependent on public approval and 
on   their ability to secure and maintain 
public respect.  
3. Public respect and approval also mean the 
willing cooperation of the public.  



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4. The police must seek and preserve public 
favor not by pursuing but by demonstrating 
impartial service to the people and the law.  
The police should strive to maintain a 
relationship with the public that gives the 
belief that the police are the public and the 
public are the police. The test of police 
efficiency is the absence of crime and 
disorder, not the visible appearance of 
police9. 
 
Peel’s principles emphasized the 
interdependency of the police and the public 
in controlling and preventing crime and 
disorder.  
Peel also opined that the police could only 
be successful at their jobs when they got 
public approval and assistance in their 
actions without resorting to force or severity 
of the law. It is true now that police cannot 
control crime and disorder without the 
support and voluntary co-operation of the 
people10. 
 
What do the law and ethics say and what 

Police done? Police have to perform the 
most significant role in making the criminal 
justice system a success In doing so police 
have to be ethically sound, socially 
acceptable, and morally just and 
sympathetic. Often allegations are heard 
about brutality and corruption of the police. 
The police are given power by law, For 
example, to use force to carry arms, to arrest 
and detain people, to search for people, 
vehicles, and belongings. Likewise other 
state organs, the police may be the reason 
for the violation of human rights during 
performing their duties. Policemen often use 
force at the time of arresting somebody 
empowered by the CPC (The Code of 
Criminal Procedure) For example how to 
secure arrest by using force ( Section 46)/ 
breaking door, window to escape at the time 
of arrest ( Section. 48) / breaking door, 
window to escape at the time of arrest 

(Section.49)excessive use of force is 
forbidden at the time of arrest(sec 50) power 
of body search ( section.51,52)/ power of 
arms seize (section.53) arrest without 
warrant (section 54) Arrest of Vagabonds by 
o/c (section.55) / Pursuit of offenders into 
other justification (sec.58)/ Police to report 
apprehensions (sec. 62) / and so on forth. 
 
However, the role of police regarding 
immoral activities is a matter of question 
within the national frontiers. Various aspects 
of interpersonal relations are governed 
according to the constitution adopted by the 
country. In Bangladesh, the constitution has 
taken due care to protect rights of the citizen 
and to that extent adopted various articles, In 
clauses 27,31,32,33,34,35,37and 43 right to 
live, right to work, right to own property, 
freedom of speech, equal treatment before 
the law, right to be defended in a criminal 
proceeding, right to be produced before the 
court. When arrested within twenty-four 
hours etc have been incorporated. The state 
has assured a guarantee to all those legal 
rights to its citizens through various 
organizations and mechanisms. 
 
The police Regulation of Bengal (PRB), 
1943 rule no 280, 102,103,163,166 of the 
code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), 1898 
also protects the right of the public and in 
section 24 of the Evidence Act, 
1872.Section 24 of the said Act states that a 
confession of an accused person shall be 
irrelevant if it was made by inducement or 
threat. Let's see what the perception of the 
public about Police is. The research was 
conducted by the researcher himself. This 
survey was conducted in the years 2019. The 
target group of the study was the 15 to a 79-
year-old population except for the District of 
Noakhali, Barishal, Feni, Dhaka & 
Chittagong. About 1000 people were 
interviewed for the study. The sample was 
formed by quota sampling, the quotas being 



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the target group’s age, sex, regional and 
municipal distribution. The interviews were 
conducted in 25 localities in Bangladesh as 
face-to-face interviews, using the computer-
aided personal interview system (CAPI). 
The interviews were conducted during the 
period 19 October - 8 November 2019. The 
mean margin of error of the overall results 
on a 95% confidence level is ±2.5 
percentage units. 
  
Forty -five unique studies covering 251 
cases met inclusion criteria. Data reported in 
21 studies indicated that 65% of people 
seem that police brutality happens lack of 
morality and Police harass innocent people 
in an unethical way. Data from 75 studies 
indicated that Police do not perform their 
duty properly. If the police are moral, the 
crime will be reduced by 75 percent from 
the country. 52 % of people considered that 
the police are influenced by political parties. 
Data reported in 13 studies indicated that 8 
of 100 police are ethical and a survey across 
a wide range of BD and transport/ sectors 
reported that 82% of drivers have to pay 
exhortation to police per week/ monthly, 
otherwise the police harassed them in 
several ways.  
 
The image crisis of the police force has been 
seen among the people due to immoral 
behavior by some police officers though 
they lead several operations with the risk of 
their life. Yet people's perceptions of the 
police are not positive. There are many 
reasons. The main reason for this negative 
perception is the conduct of illegal, biased, 
and amateur activities. However, Police 
have taken place many immoral, unsocial & 
amateur activities due to lack of morality. 
Some of these facts we can learn which are 
published in several newspapers and some 
of the facts remain hidden. From the 
published news we can assume how biased 
and immoral the police are in the absence of 

morality! For example, Transparency 
International stated that Police are the most 
corrupted organization in Bangladesh. Voice 
of America reports Bangladesh police to 
have a long history of allegations and Police 
in Bangladesh have long been accused of 
abduction, enforced disappearance, 
extrajudicial killing, and other abuses12. 
Bangla Daily Newspaper Jaijaidin reports 
with the source of BBC that ‘There is no 
crime that the police are not involved’13. 

 Below I present some of the immoral 
activities of the police by taken help from 
several reports that published the daily 
newspapers of Bangladesh. In 2019, Nusrat 
murder was a burning issue across the 
country, it was proved that the then OC of 
Sonagazi Moazzem Hossain was the fuel in 
this murder. The Daily Sun reports that 
allegations against OC Moazzem proved in 
the investigation. In detail they report- 
Former Sonagazi Model Police Station OC 
was sued for spreading a video on social 
media after recording a statement from 
Nusrat at Sonagazi Model Police Station. 
During an interrogation, Moazzem asked 
Nusrat offensive and unpleasant questions 
over the incident. Later, he spread the video 
on social media. 
 
On April 6, Nusrat was set afire at an 
examination center allegedly by people loyal 
to the principal of her madrasa after he was 
arrested and subsequently suspended as she 
had accused him of sexually harassing her in 
Sonagazi Upazila of Feni district14. 
 
The Daily Protham alo on 12th June reports 
that The police submit a charge sheet in the 
name of the deceased person. Surprised by 
the incident, the court judge said, "This is 
not a big deal in all possible countries"15. 

In the daily Jugantor published with the 
headlines name `Grab the money’ that 
covers a lot of accusation against the police 



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on 24th August 2014, they enclose a lot of 
incident below I just mention one of them. 
 
On January 3, Sub inspector (SI) Mashiur 
Rahman was arrested Saudi Arabia resident 
Badal Khan, while he talking to a friend on 
the road in South Bishal of Darussalam 
police station. Badal first complained SI 
Mashiur demanded money from him after 
his arrest. If you do not pay the money, 
Yaba and the money laundering case 
threatens to get caught.  
 
Seven policemen, including two officers-in-
charge of two police stations in Chattogram, 
were sued yesterday for taking Tk 23 lakh 
from a businessperson by "threatening to kill 
him in crossfire".Yasin, 55, owner of M/S 
Yasin Enterprise in Chattogram city, filed a 
case with the court of Additional Chief 
Metropolitan Magistrate Mohiuddin 
Murad16. 
 
Bangladeshi’s best English newspaper the 
Daily Star published reports where they told  
that a video showing on-duty policemen 
harassing a young woman at a checkpoint in 
the capital has triggered outrage on social 
media on 24th October-18. At least two 
policemen were seen in the footage stopping 
a three-wheeler auto-rickshaw carrying the 
woman, who was traveling alone and 
seeking to check her handbag. As the cops 
started using offensive language, an 
altercation broke out between the woman 
and the policemen. The law enforcers were 
heard hinting that she was a prostitute (you 
just came out of a hotel) as she was traveling 
late at night. As the cops constantly shone a 
torch in her face, she asked them to take it 
off and check her handbag. The policemen 
still kept on intimidating her. As the woman 
protested their indecent behavior, one of the 
cops threatened that they would take her 
away’17. 
 

The same newspaper reports another 
immoral activities of police officers where 
they report- Officer-in-Charge of Paltan 
Police Station Mahmudul Haque has been 
suspended following allegations of rape. He 
allegedly raped a woman after promising to 
marry her and give her a decent 
job18. Another English daily the new age 
reports like same that is -` A police 
constable was beaten up by local people 
allegedly for sexually harassing a19. Five 
railway policemen allegedly raped the 
woman after arresting her on allegations of 
stealing a mobile phone. Police produced 
her before a court the following day 
showing her arrested with five bottles of 
contraband Phensidyl syrup20. 
 
I can present more data similar to the above 
as evidence of the police’s unethical and 
illegal activates.such as -  
 Abu Bakkar Siddique, 45, an accused in a 
case filed under the Digital Security Act, 
died in the custody of Tejgaon Industrial 
Area police station21. Police filed a case 
against a 10-month-old child22. Highway 
police are regularly taking bribery and 
extortion every day in the name of 
intimidation of the case and viewing of 
papers23. Extortion allegation against 
police 24. Million taka extortion of police on 
102 Bar and club in the capital 25. 
Intimidating the case Police are accused of 
embezzling merchant money26. 
 
A Police member threw a schoolgirl at a 
ventilator after the rape27. 'Police shoot with 
broken legs, I'm crippled now'28. Charge 
sheet against a child!29, A private car has 
been broken by a man who is in abroad 30. A 
police constable was beaten up by local 
people allegedly for sexually harassing a 
woman in on 30th August-19 31. From these 
news we are clear that how immoral and 
biased the police is. In Protham Alo 
published a piece of interesting news about 



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the police and their partisan role. They 
reported on September 6, 2014, that BNP’s 
convenor Abdul Azizullah died on May 27. 
But after 20 months of his death 
Chawakbazar thana police have accused him 
of a case. He allegedly threw bricks at the 
police in the old central jail area of Dhaka 
on September 6. And police alleged that he 
also exploded cocktail with other leaders of 
Opposition party BNP32.   I can present more 
examples about police immorality by taken 
news from newspapers such as 12 members 
of Police including SP was accused of 
selling a million pieces of Yaba in Cox's 
Bazar. The investigation of a committee 
constituted by the police headquarters also 
confirmed the incident. However, the police 
administration did not take any action 
against them33, Police threat for crossfire34. 

Accused of arranging a crossfire drama after 
the teenager's death in police torture35. 
Crossfire fearing threat is to earn money36. 

OC, SI among 4 sued for extortion using 
‘crossfire’ threat37. With the silent support of 
the police, the center seized the ballot and 
set fire to it38. Blackmail showing nude 
pictures of a housewife in Thakurgaon. 
Police did not take charge of the police 
station39. Police officer tried to blackmail 
Bangladesh Bank official threatening Yaba 
taint40. Police did not take any action 
Rabbi's case against SI Masud 41. 
 
In some cases, people have been “picked 
up” from homes or streets by members of 
the security forces who subsequently denied 
knowledge of their whereabouts to family 
members. This may amount to enforced 
disappearance. In some cases, family 
members witnessed their loved ones being 
taken away by security forces only to be 
found later in the morgues. In the media, 
some reports repeat official narratives of 
“gunfights” with security forces – such as 
the police, the Rapid Action Battalions 

(RAB), or unknown armed persons leading 
to deaths of suspected drug dealers42. 
  
Police did not take action even though there 
were casinos in Dhaka43. Charge sheet has 
been submitting at the court against the 13 
peoples’ including 13 police members where 
Nasim khan, Khalishpur (Khulna) thana 
officer is accused of upholding the eyes of 
small businessmen. In a statement of the 
case, they mention that the police uphold the 
eyes of shah jamal accusation of robber 
when they did not get the money that they 
demand44. 
 
However, Police authorities are receiving a 
lot of complaints against their members 
every day from across the country. Some of 
these include bribery, harassment, torture of 
women, and extortion. Apart from that, 
policemen are also being accused of 
threatening to kill people. These allegations 
are pouring in at the ‘IGP Complain 
Monitoring Cell’. On average, this cell 
receives more than 3000 complaints per 
month through e-mails, text messages, or 
calls45. The daily star wrote another column 
on the editorial page about police 
immorality on 24 January 2019. They 
enclose some data about police abuse of 
power. They reported that it is quite 
ludicrous that a physically challenged man 
whose right arm has been deformed since 
birth has been made one of the 52 people 
accused of violently attacking the police 
using sharp instruments like 
machetes46. Another English daily The Daily 
New Age published about police immature 
action with veteran peoples’ on 5th 
February-2019, the reports was as 70-year-
old Karamat Ali, visually-challenged came 
to the High Court Division on Monday, 
seeking anticipatory bail in a ‘gayebi 
mamla’ (false case) filed against him by 
police before the December 30 general 
election. 



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 The case accused Karamat Ali and 39 
others of committing subversive activities 
and rioting by setting fire to a motorbike at 
village Banda Goaliya, Kheruadani union, 
Muktagaccha, Mymensingh district on 
December 22, just eight days before the 
parliament elections. Karamat Ali came to 
the High Court along with the 39 accused in 
the case filed with the Muktagaccha Police 
Station on December 24. Karamat Ali, was 
wearing black goggles and roaming the 
Supreme Court premises with the support of 
a bamboo stick, drew the attention of 
bystanders at noon when he was seen 
gossiping with other accused besides the 
SC’s sculpture. 
  
There is none to take care of Karamat as his 
wife and two sons died many years ago. 
 Karamat is unable to move without the 
support and he makes his life on alms from 
the well-off47. Monday 25th April 2018, a 
case was filed by the police against a young 
man for carrying yaba pills in Chittagong.  
 
In a dramatic turn of events, a counter case 
was filed by the accused’s mother against 
seven police officers, claiming that it was a 
sort of sued. According to Meherunessa, her 
son Mehedi Hasan was picked up from the 
street by the police and the police demanded 
money worth BDT three lacs. “At his 
refusal, the police put 40 yaba tablets in his 
pocket and charged him for carrying them”, 
claimed by Meherunnessa. 
Such an instance, however, is not new. 
Reports of similar occurrences from the 
leading dailies are mentioned below. 
 
On the 31st of January 2016, a female 
student was sexually harassed and alleged to 
carry 200 yaba pills. This was after she was 
brought down from her rickshaw by the sub-
inspector of Mohammadpur area and taken 
to a shop in the name of the search. 

According to the woman, the policemen 
searched her bag for an hour and asked her 
to take off her jacket with indecent 
language. The SI was later suspended48. 
 
In February of the same year, a Barisal 
police officer was suspended for extortion 
and harassing two businessmen. The sub-
inspector forcefully took the businessmen to 
a hotel in Natun Bazar bus terminal area and 
demanded Tk 50,000 from them, according 
to a complaint by the businessmen. Later, 
the SI put Yaba tablets inside one of their 
pockets and threatened to arrest them if they 
do not give him the sum of money, the 
businessmen alleged49. 
 
In late October of 2016, a sub-inspector of 
Chowgacha Police Station kept yaba pills 
via a source at a store owned by Mr. Rabon 
Kumar. The pills were found by the SI after 
the source came out. After other traders in 
the market stood up for Rabon, the SI and 
his source fled the scene50. 
 
In December 2016, two Chittagong 
Metropolitan Police constables were 
suspended for deliberately putting yaba pills 
in a journalist’s pocket. Mr. Mostafa was 
brought down from his bus and taken to the 
police box. He alleged that the constable 
tried to trap him when he found nothing 
after searching his pocket 51 . 
 
In 2018, three incidents of a similar pattern 
took place in Jessore. On 11th June, an SI 
got into trouble as he tried to put a packet of 
opium into a young man’s pocket in the 
Baily Road area. On 15th June, an SI of the 
Kotwali Police Station of Benapole was 
barred for trying to make a college teacher 
accused in a drug peddling case. A source of 
the SI tried to arrest the teacher after 
inserting some yaba pills into his pocket, 
triggering chaos52.Two days after this 
incident, a police constable of Jessore faced 



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mob beating for allegedly putting yaba in 
the pocket of a businessman named Pikul. In 
the way of conversation, the constable tried 
to put 3-4 pieces of yaba tablets wrapped in 
a polythene packet into Pikul’s pocket. 
Upon Pikul’s screaming, a mob gathered 
and beat the police constable as they found 
yaba tablets in his hands53. 
 
Incidents like these are rampant in Dhaka 
city. On June 27, 2018, a journalist named 
Ashik was stopped by patrol police and put 
on a police van. He was beaten and told that 
he would be set free if he paid Tk. 100,000/. 
After the journalist said that he could only 
pay Tk. 5,000, the police charged him with 
possession of yaba, according to a report of 
bdnews24.com54. 
 
Of late we find there is a decline in Police 
standards. Various reasons can be attributed 
to this, firstly, Bangladesh has long been 
under colonial rule. Most of the rules and 
regulations of the police were enacted at that 
time. With that regime, there is a huge 
difference between the current regime and 
the people's perspective. Therefore, the rules 
and regulations imposed during the time of 
building harmony between both the police 
and the people are the main obstacles. 
Secondly, lack of training given to police 
personnel is another cause of concern, 
because along with a degree, the skill also 
contributes to the personality development 
of Police officers. Thirdly, the Immoral and 
biased attitude of the police cannot be 
stopped as there is no stick punishment for 
the police. On the other hand, some 
members of the police are punished for the 
crime. Often, crime is terrible but 
punishment is negligible. It is alleged that 
there were serious allegations against many 
officers of the rank of Sub-Inspector, 
Inspector, Assistant Police Commissioner or 
Additional Police Commissioner, but no 
strict penalty or action was taken against 

them. As the initial allegations were proved, 
the action was taken against the accused 
police personnel by the Government 
Employees (Discipline and Appeal) Rule-1. 
Necessary steps should be taken to enforce 
the penal code under Government 
Employees (Discipline and Appeals) Rule-1. 
   
Fourthly, the Police personnel’s often 
regulated in politics If the government 
continues to do so, it will be unable to 
regulate police; on the other hand, will 
become dependent on them and people will 
continue to suffer at the hands of their 
protector. 
 
Fifthly, Insufficient salary – allowance for 
police, sixthly, Anxiety and boar is another 
cause of police because, Police officers and 
constables work 13-18 hours a day, which is 
almost double the working hours of the 
government employees of other professions. 
On an average officer in charge of a 
metropolitan police station works 18 hours a 
day, an officer in charge in district and thana 
levels works 15 hours. In all the police 
stations sub-inspectors, Assistant Sub- 
Inspectors and constables work 13-16 hours 
a day. As professional service requires 
sufficient rest and refreshment.  
 
As advocated by National Police 
Commission a Chief of Police of a State 
should be given a fixed tenure of the office 
to encourage functional independence. It has 
been commonplace in Bangladesh for 
transfers and postings of officers to be used 
as a kind of reward and punishment, as a 
result of which, many chiefs of police have 
had allegiances to political parties. Also, the 
selection of Police Chief could be entrusted 
to an expert committee. The committee may 
be given a pre-specified number of 
candidates, decided based on seniority, to 
choose from. Strict supervision and 
monitoring, tough punishment, and the will 



Bangladesh Journal of Bioethics 2020; 11 (1): 9-23 

 

 

19 

 

to put an end to the culture of impunity can 
only stop the involvement of the police force 
in extortion and serious crimes. 
Furthermore, we expect departmental action 
to be taken against all corrupt police 
officials, not just a few OCs and cops who 
are sued on extortion allegations. The police 
department should display a serious zero 
tolerance towards all police crimes. This is 
very fundamental. A civilized society based 
on the rule of law cannot be built unless we 
have an honest police force. It is expected 
the people at the top echelon of police and 
their authority, the home ministry, should 
realize this. 
 
Neyroud and Beckley emphasize the 
significance of ethics for the police in 
particular, because: 
They have the discretion to make decisions 
which affect the life, liberty, and property of 
other citizens, 
They have the power to use intrusive, covert 
and deceptive methods, 
They have to enforce the law, 
They have to protect the rights of citizens, 
They have a crucial role in protecting hard-
to-reach minority groups, 
They are public servants and, therefore, as 
the appointed guardians of the public’s 
interests, they must show high standards of 
integrity (a commitment to moral life), 
They are the gatekeepers of citizenship and 
respectability, 
The integrity of the police worldwide has 
suffered a series of shocks, whether it be as 
a result of corruption, incompetence, or 
racism55 
  
The main goal of policing ethics is to 
maintain neutrality when taking any action. 
Maintaining integrity in decision making, 
they don’t be partisan. The tremendous 
power that police have over people’s lives 
requires ethics in exercise. People expect 
that police should always represent well 

over evil. To achieve and maintain public 
trust, police must be persons of good 
character who hold foremost the ideals of 
fairness and justice. How police use their 
discretion to enforce the law and solve 
problems determines whether the public 
views the police with ethics or having 
ethical behavior.  Overall policing ethics is 
Uphold the law, norms, and ethical 
guidelines in all official operations and 
private life. Respect the general citizen and 
Serve them as an example to others and 
show bias to no-one. The law is the same for 
all. Be reliable and above bribery. This is 
what the police are all about.” In below 
some maxim for policing ethics given by 
Nurul Huda, former IGP of Bangladesh 56. 

 
1) Police must not evade the registration of a 
crime as that means committing a breach of 
law under the Penal Code. Such evasions 
embolden the criminal, to say the least; 
 2) Police must not misbehave with the 
citizens;  
3) Police must not implicate innocent 
persons in criminal cases and must not 
fabricate evidence to secure a conviction; 
 4) Police must not resort to third-degree 
methods in the investigation of cases. Such 
practices only tend to alienate the police 
from the public, and are not permitted by the 
law either; 
 5) Police must not extort confessions from 
the accused by adopting tortuous methods of 
investigation; 
 6) Police must be apolitical in their 
professional capacity and impartial in their 
application of the law;  
7) The police shall not indulge in excesses 
like a violation of the principle of the 
minimum use of force; and 
 8) Police officials must not show any 
proclivity to please the political bosses for 
their personal and professional gains. In 
short, the philosophy of ethical policing is to 
be fair in making a decision, neutral in 



Bangladesh Journal of Bioethics 2020; 11 (1): 9-23 

 

 

20 

 

action, sober to people, habituated in doing 
the right thing, and avoiding wrong things. 
Ethical behavior by individual officers and 
by the department as a whole is 
indispensable to effective police-community 
partnerships57. Police will provide personal 
services to the individuals based on their 
needs and the function of the police is to be 
based on need assessment giving due 
regards to local norms and values. Instead of 
sitting in the office to receive a complaint or 
patrolling by car, the officers are to get out 
from their office and vehicles and initiate 
positive interactions with the citizens in their 
area of responsibility to have public views 
and suggestion about ongoing policing, local 
problems and changes in policing, if 
required58 . 
 
The Police have to realize that they are 
public servants and accountable to the 
public. They are meant to ensure public 
security within the limits prescribed by law. 
If the community assists police, the 
investigation of crimes would be effective 
and efficient resulting in the overall 
improvement of law and order situation. 
 

Conclusion: Police are the most important 
and essential force of any nation. We cannot 
think of peaceful sustenance without an 
efficient and responsible police force. Not 
every person needs to always need the 
assistance of the police in his day to day life. 
However, in the absence of police total 
anarchy will let lose upon us. 
 
If we aim to make quality policing a way of 
life, then the existing police setup has to be 
replaced with one that is more “customer & 
Ethics-friendly”. There has to be a clear, 
shared sense of mission accompanied by 
clearly understood organizational goals. The 
citizens have to be a part of the policy 
decision-making process. The police 
command and control structure has to fully 

rest with the police chiefs. Police leadership 
has to be empowered to effectively control 
their erring subordinates. There have to be 
credible and effective mechanisms for 
policing the police. And finally, the Police 
Act 1861 has to be replaced with new 
legislation that embraces all the essential 
elements of reinvention, based on the best 
models available in the world. People’s faith 
in the police should be restored. Police do 
not have the license to kill even a killer and 
they have to protect the right to life and 
personal liberty of an arrested person in their 
custody and state should rein in their agents 
and bring them to justice those are abridging 
the fundamental human rights of arrestees 
and subjecting them to fortune, physical 
harassment and custodial violence. Efforts 
should be made to restore the faith of the 
people in the police given that law 
enforcement agencies are integral for 
maintaining law and order in the Country 
and their contribution to the society cannot 
be undermined. Police ethics provides a 
compass to both police officers and police 
managers, by specifying the core 
imperatives, values, and virtues of policing, 
by delineating the process of moral 
reasoning and decision-making, by setting 
the standards of ethical conduct, and by 
defining the means and the content of police 
ethics education and training. Police 
scholars and practitioners have to cooperate 
in developing police ethics. This is not an 
easy task for either of them. Developing and 
implementing police ethics invokes changes 
in the police organization. Police 
organizations and police officers, as we 
know, are very resistant to change. Those 
police scholars and practitioners entrusted 
with developing police ethics must, 
therefore, themselves be persons of high 
integrity. In developing and implementing 
police ethics, a lot of people will have to be 
told the things they most definitely do not 
want to hear. 



Bangladesh Journal of Bioethics 2020; 11 (1): 9-23 

 

 

21 

 

  
 
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Author Contributions: Author conceived the idea, 

did the literature review and wrote the manuscript. 

and checked the manuscript meticulously.    
    
Conflict of interests:  The authors declare that there 

is no conflict of interest in this study. 
 

 


