DHAKA, Dec 13, 2017 (BSS) – The Open House Day, introduced ten years back, has become platform of the police-people interactions, as it has been playing a pivotal role in making police accountable to people and ensuring participation of commoners in policing that helps to maintain law and order and curb crimes.
“The Open House Day is being held once a month on the last Saturday. It is the lone system where police officers have to face people directly and reply to their quarries,” Deputy Commissioner (DC) Md Maruf Hossain Sarder of Ramna zone told BSS today.
The system is helping to make policemen accountable as people from the cross-section of the society even put forward different irregularities of the police and forced them to take prompt action against corrupts after receiving such allegations, he also said.
Sufferings of the commoners and crimes have lessened manifold with introduction of the program, he said, adding that they even get ideas about the real law and order situation of the locality which help them take next course of action, he added.
Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Jatrabari Police Station Md Anisur Rahman told BSS that teachers of different schools and colleges, bank employees, political leaders of different parties, and representatives usually take part in the Open House Day discussion.
“The main reason of the day is ensuring a partnership between police and people to maintain law and order and curb crimes,” he also 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.
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.
Officer-in-charge (OC) Naria Police Station of Shariatpur district Md Aslam Uddin said, “The programme helps to bridge gap between the police and the common people.”
“We are now holding Open House Day discussion at different unions under the jurisdiction of Naria Police Station aimed at reaching the doorsteps of commoners to convince them to participate in the discussion with an open mind,” he also said.
“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.