Social crimes in Bangladesh and ways to address them

In a developing country like Bangladesh, due to lack of proper implementation of law, fulfilment of basic needs, political will, proper

education, etc. the social crimes like murder, disappearance, drug addiction, rape, theft, robbery are increasing day by day.

Recently, juvenile crime has also been added to social crimes. Along with this, the number of rapes of women and children has

increased at an alarming rate. Social inequality, lack of social security, drug addiction, misuse of law, economic depression, culture

of impunity and political instability are fuelling social crime.

In our capitalist social system, social inequality contributes to the increase the social crime. As a result, class discrimination is taking

a serious shape. According to various media, till June 2022, the number of millionaires in the country is 1 lac 3 thousand 597

people. But, by the end of 2021, this number was 1 lac 1 thousand 976 people. In contrast, the number of people living in poverty is

now 40% and is likely to increase further, experts said. So due to this kind of inequality in the society, many people are motivated to

criminal activities and organized social crimes.

Lack of social security in Bangladesh is another reason for the increase in social crime. Statistics show that due to lack of security

936 women were victims of rape in the country in 2022. Among them 47 were killed after rape and 7 committed suicides after rape.

In addition, in 2022, 1 thousand 88 children admitted to torture. Among them, 660 children were victims of rape as well as

attempted of rape and sexual harassment and 52 boys were also victims of rape.

The availability of drugs is also closely related to the increase in social crime. As a result of the easy availability of drugs, children

and adolescents are easily addicted to drugs and are involved in various types of crimes. To collect money to buy drugs, children and

teenagers commit various crimes including murder. According to ASK (Ain O Salish Kendra), 25thousand 300 people were accused

in 23,270 drug cases across the country in 2022. Besides, 13thousand 649 people were sentenced by conducting 29thousand 971

mobile courts.

Social crimes like murder, theft, robbery, terrorism and drug-related crimes are also increasing in the country. According to the

Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) case data, 28 thousand 749 cases of various crimes were registered in the capital in 2022, which is

15 percent more than the previous year. And in 2022, 61 thousand 494 people were arrested for various crimes. The number of

theft cases increased by 28 percent, the number of mugging cases is 103 and robbery cases is 145 in last year.

Due to the closure of educational institutions in the country for a long time during the Covid-19, the mentality of the students was

changed. At that time, juvenile gangs were formed in different parts of the country including the capital. Old terrorists and

influential are exploiting the youth gangs to further their interests. As a result, the law-and-order situation has deteriorated day by

day. Again, various types of social crimes are being committed under the canopy of the political parties of the country. For example,

there were 479 incidents of conflict and violence in 2022 due to political reasons. 70 people were killed and around 6914 were

injured.

Although Bangladesh continues to have various laws to curb crime, in most cases these laws are not being effectively implemented.

Also, when a crime is occurred, the police do not file the case on time or delay the investigation. As a result of such misuse of law,

social crimes are increasing. Moreover, people can easily misuse the internet as it has become easy to use. As a result, cybercrime,

online importunity, cyber bullying, pornography and online grounded crimes are increasing. In the way moral decay and sick

mentality is being created among the people of our society, these activities will appear as a big obstacle in the development of

Bangladesh in the near future.

Therefore, the government of Bangladesh should bring about the institutions engaged in the administration and protection of law

and order to be more active and accountable in establishing justice. At the same time taking initiatives to eradicate crime by

involving people. The administration, law enforcement and media should be above partisanship. All concerned should work together

to ensure effective crime prevention, detection, suppression, social peace and human rights on the basis of mutual cooperation.

Police and public representatives should play a public-facing role according to the needs of the people. Everyone should always strive

to fight corruption. The police force and the media must always discharge their duties with impartiality, honesty and integrity. Police

and media activities should be coordinated to establish strong democracy, human rights and good governance in the

country.Lengthy judicial process should be eliminated. And for this, the independence and transparency of the judiciary must be

ensured. Human qualities and morals should be developed and expanded. Everyone should live with honesty, patriotism and

religious values. Human values and moral education should be written more in curriculum and textbooks.

Human rights including food, clothing, housing, education, health, nutrition, employment must be guaranteed. Children should be

raised with good education and human values. The use of social media for children, teenagers and young people should be

controlled, including banning obscenity through social media such as Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter etc. Above all, it is the need

of the hour for the government and the people to work together to save the country and nation from the dreaded clutches of social

crime.
-    Mojammel Hoque Tavriz, Member, Social Science Research Group (SSRG)