Law enforcement agencies have been failing to contain rise in crimes including mob lynching, extortion, robbery and highway docoity across the country, while more than 1,000 firearms and nearly 250,000 rounds of ammunition looted during the July uprising remain missing.
Police have also been failing to tackle the growing wave of cybercrime, including financial fraud, online harassment and social media account cloning, due to lack of specialised forensic tools and technical expertise.
According to sources, police stations across the country continue to face severe logistical shortages and have yet to fully restore operational capacity following widespread attacks during the August unrest.
Allegations of corruption within the force have further eroded public confidence. Complaints of bribe demands are frequently reported during the filing of general diaries, criminal cases and applications for police clearance certificates. Similar allegations of extortion have also surfaced against members of the traffic division.
A security analyst, speaking on condition of anonymity, said public trust in the police had collapsed in the aftermath of the July uprising.
The morale of the law enforcers has also gone down due to killing during the July-August upheaval and the political victimisation and harassment during the interim government, he added.
"Many people now view the police as an instrument of political repression rather than a force meant to protect citizens," the analyst observed.
The former interim government had announced cash rewards of up to Tk500,000 for information leading to the recovery of looted firearms. Despite the initiative, recovery efforts have fallen far short of expectations.
According to police estimates, around 5,500 firearms and nearly 650,000 rounds of ammunition were looted after attacks on more than 450 police stations and outposts across the country following the fall of the Awami League government on August 5.
The stolen weapons included Chinese rifles, submachine guns, light machine guns, pistols, shotguns and gas guns.
Authorities fear many of the missing weapons have ended up in the hands of criminal groups and are being used in robbery, extortion, armed theft and murder.
The security analyst warned that failure to recover the weapons could pose a serious long-term threat to national security.
Since the July uprising, police have been struggling to regain full control, restore discipline and recover moral in the wake of to growing public dissatisfaction over the deteriorating law-and-order situation.
A recent rise in shootings and killings has further heightened public anxiety. Incidents of gang violence and murder have also continued even after the formation of the new government following February general election.
Public anger towards the police intensified during the July movement over the force's controversial role in handling protests.
The backlash culminated in coordinated attacks on police infrastructure across the country, leaving many stations vandalised and looted. A good number of police personnel were also killed during pre and post July-August uprising.
"With the police still in a weakened condition, the overall law-and-order situation has become increasingly fragile," the analyst added.
