ZCZC
BSS-33
POLICE-OPEN-HOUSE
Open House Day insists police taking prompt action
DHAKA, Jan, 28, 2019 (BSS) – The Open House Day, introduced 11 years
back, has become a platform of the police-people interactions, as it has been
playing a vital role in making law enforcers accountable to people and making
them to take prompt action.
“The system is helping to make policemen accountable as people from the
cross-section of the society put forward different irregularities of the
police and forced them to take prompt action against corrupts after receiving
such allegations,” Additional Deputy Commissioner of Motijheel division
Saifur Rahman told BSS today.
“We have got spontaneous response from commoners in the Open House Day
programme usually held once or twice in a month at each of the police station
across the country. Discussion in the programme is helping us a lot to get
idea of the real law and order situation of the locality which help us to
take next course of action,” he also said.
“It is the lone system where police officers have to face people
directly and reply to their quarries,” he added.
Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Jatrabari Police Station Kazi Wazed Ali told
BSS today, “The programme helps to bridge gap between the police and the
common people. We are now holding Open House Day discussion aimed at reaching
the doorsteps of commoners to convince them to participate in the discussion
with an open mind.”
“They (commoners) even lodge complaints against the policemen in the
discussion forcing police to take action against their men for misdeeds,” he
said, adding that sometimes police get suggestion from them in taking
measures to combat crimes in some particular areas.
“The main reason of the programme is to ensure a partnership between
police and people to maintain law and order and curb crimes,” he further
said.
Open House Day was introduced in 2007 as part of the police reform
programme under the Community Policing Policy. Police hold the day once a
month on any Saturday so that commoners and people get chance of talking
directly to their respective police stations about their problems.
Teachers of different schools and colleges, bank employees, political
leaders of different parties, and representatives usually take part in the
Open House Day discussion.
Allegations of various types of social crimes such as torture on women
and children, dowry, drug trading, extortion, and harassment of commoners by
the police usually dominates the Open House Day discussion.
The system has been introduced aimed at ensuring police-people
participation in all the social issues including checking crimes. The police
headquarters has directed all concerned to remain alert so that no criminal
could get involved in the programme.
All the police stations across the country have been asked to hold the
Open House Day once a month.
Police in the capital and outside of the capital inform the commoners of
holding the Open House Day through letters or SMSs.
BSS/SPL-AHJ/IJ/1810 hrs