Bangladesh: UNODC promotes community policing approaches to counter terrorism and violent extremism 

Dhaka, Bangladesh/14 June 2023: Violent extremism and terrorism continue to pose significant threats to public safety, security, stability, and human rights on a global scale. Addressing these pressing challenges effectively demands a comprehensive approach that integrates law enforcement efforts with preventive measures. This approach entails the establishment of national strategies and legal frameworks, the enhancement of law enforcement and intelligence capabilities, the promotion of international cooperation and the sharing of information, and the tackling of underlying socio-economic factors that contribute to the rise of violent extremism.

Community policing plays a crucial role in this endeavor, as it involves actively engaging community members and building trust to create an environment conducive to cooperation and the exchange of information. By fostering collaboration between law enforcement agencies and communities, we can work together to combat violent extremism and terrorism.

In this direction, UNODC has partnered with the Anti-Terrorism Unit (ATU) of the Bangladesh Police to convene a series of consultations to promote community-based policing strategies—with focus on improved research, training, national coordination, regional networking, and women-led policing. The project, funded by the Government of Canada, seeks to take a multidimensional approach to preventing radicalization, and provide support for the rehabilitation and reintegration of individuals involved in violent activities.

Taking this initiative forward, a regional consultation workshop was hosted in Dhaka, to identify existing gaps, challenges, and future interventions in strengthening community and beat policing mechanisms.

Supported by Global Affairs Canada, the regional consultation brought together 80 participants, including officials from Bangladesh Police, such as the Anti-Terrorism Unit, Range Police Officers, Community and Beat Police Officers, Metropolitan Police Officers, and representatives from print and electronic media.

The workshop provided a platform to promote a shared understanding of how community members and law enforcement agencies can complement ongoing efforts in preventing violent extremism and countering terrorism--as well as generate recommendations, policy inputs and strategies to develop new interventions.

Participants called for additional capacity-building for community and beat police officers—especially on identifying and responding to signs of radicalization and extremism, as well as building skills in communication, negotiation, and conflict resolution.

These insights will be further leveraged by the Bangladesh Police and UNODC in building collaborative efforts to strengthen security, peace and to counter terrorism in Bangladesh.

In recent years, UNODC has been working closely with Bangladesh Police to improve the country's criminal justice system and build counter-terrorism capacities. This joint initiative has focused on enhancing the capacity of law enforcement agencies to better investigate and prosecute terrorist activities, strengthening border management, and promoting inter-agency cooperation in counter-terrorism efforts.

This activity contributed to SDG 5, SDG 16 and SDG 17: https://sdg-tracker.org/ 

(Supported by Global Affairs Canada)