In an age of cyber crimes, the country’s police forces lack appropriate technology and skilled workforce to check increased occurrence of high-tech crimes, high officials of the police department said. But the government has recently taken an initiative to train 1200 policemen from constable upwards to handle sophisticated technologies to check cyber crimes.
High police officials said, “Cyber crimes are increasing with every passing day and such crimes have no boundary as one can hack website of a country residing elsewhere while a criminal residing in London can withdraw money from a bank account in Bangladesh using modern technology.”
Police are constrained having no cyber crime detection system while the criminals are using high technology while committing crimes. The criminals are thrilled when thepolice repeatedly fail to detect high-tech crimes, the sources said, admitting the shortcomings.
“With the spread of online banking, the use plastic money has been increased significantly in our lives. Money laundering is also an increasing cause of international concern. There are laws in this regard, but the police have no technology to implement those,” they further acknowledged.
A cyber crime squad was set up in the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in 2008 but it is unable to work smoothly due to lack of trained officials, necessary equipment and logistic support, even after three year of its formation, they said.
“The country’s police are now in the dark in terms of detection of and protection from transnational crimes. International economic security will be hampered and online hacking will also increase, if we fail to introduce the mechanism of busting the digital crimes. India, China and other neighbouring countries are now working in this regard institutionally,” they informed.
“There are some information, more valuable than money, which are to be protected. It is possible to nip a high-tech crime, if we get to know it before it is committed. It is impossible to fight against firearms with bows and arrows. So appropriate tools are needed to fight crimes involving high technology. Otherwise it will be impossible for us to survive,
” he said. Bangladesh police, serving with the UN forces in 18 countries, are now investigating cyber crimes using high technology, he said. Investigation and operation expert Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Moslem Ali said, “The government has taken an initiative to train 1200 policemen from constable upwards on how to handle sophisticated technologies to check cyber crimes under the Police Reform Programme (PRP).”
Moslem, who is now working with PRP, said that there was an urgent need of a regional platform to check the cyber crimes as such crimes have no boundaries. As part of formation of the regional platform to address such crimes collectively, a regional cyber crimes conference was held in Bangladesh in 2006 and Hong Kong, Nepal and India participated the conference, he said.The government will arrange another such regional conference in July this year where all the member countries of the SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Conference) will participate alongside Australia and Hong Kong, he added.
News Source: The Daily Sun