Police have planned to reduce dependence on the existing oral testimony by this year and promote scientific and forensic method of investigation to increase the conviction rate, which is now below 20 percent.

The goals were disclosed while unveiling a three-year strategic plan 2018-20 at the Rajarbagh Police Auditorium in the capital yesterday. 

“Presently, the detection of crime is one of the core functions of police which is largely based on oral [testimony] and hardly corroborated by forensic evidence. Detection procedure is traditional which earns less than 20 percent conviction rate,” the plan reads.

For the proper forensic support in investigation, police will establish forensic units at all divisional headquarters by December 2019, according to the strategic plan.

As part of the plan, police will establish six new metropolitan units in Gazipur, Rangpur, Mymensingh, Narayanganj, Comilla and Bogra by June next year, to ensure better policing in those areas.

In addition, some new police units, including Guard and Protection Battalion, aviation and cyber police, will be formed within December 2020.

The plan further includes upgrading central police hospital from existing 250 beds to 500 beds with ICU facilities by June 2020, and establishing 13 new divisional police hospitals within December next year.

Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal was present in the unveiling programme as the chief guest with Inspector General of Police AKM Shahidul Hoque in the chair.

The home minister said strategic plan is a framework, through which police can apply its strength and resources to explore the available opportunities and confront threats and challenges in realising its vision.

PHQ Deputy Inspector General (operation) Mahbubur Rahman said manpower of the Bangladesh Police has exceeded 2,00,000 at this point of time, but police-people ratio is still 1:816.

The strategic plan intends to have more manpower for the organisation by December 2020.

For detection and prevention of crimes, the plan aims to install CCTV in vulnerable and strategic points, and establish witness management desks by June 2019.

Police will also develop tools to monitor social media and online radicalisation materials along with anti-terrorism operational squads in all metropolitan police units by June 2020. Presently, only the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) has the anti-terrorism operational squads including SWAT, sniper, bomb disposal and canine squads.

Although police take strategic plan at intervals of three years but this is the first time they made their strategic plan public. According to this plan, police will use maximum technological support -- for instance, digital crime map and intelligence management -- to investigate cases.

IGP Shahidul said during the tenure of the incumbent government, a lot of capacity-building initiatives have been taken to increase the strength of police, resulting in success in combating crimes, especially militancy and terrorism.

Now a new strategic plan has been taken and it, if successfully implemented, will take Bangladesh Police to a new height, said the police chief.