An Appraisal of Criminal Investigation in Bangladesh: Procedure and Practice

In absence of a separate investigating agency in Bangladesh, the investigating officers who belong to the police force are at times lagging behind the professionalism in wrapping up investigation of crimes for a plethora of reasons. In many instances the investigating officers are alleged to be discharging their duties in a casual manner. Though separate judicial magistracy started its journey about eight years ago, delayed, defective and biased investigation of crimes is one of the major stumbling blocks that haunt our crippling criminal justice system. Colonial rules, too much reliance on confession of the accused rather than evidence oriented way of investigation and heavy workloads of law enforcing agency are major causes for lackadaisical investigation. Many officers also tend to be conveniently indifferent to the modern trends and technical developments of investigation techniques and human rights of the accused. It is also critical that the investigating officers are well-versed with the essential ingredients of the offences they are investigating. The investigators are also often handicapped in undertaking effective investigation for want of modern gadgets and equipment etc. In this age, the crime detecting members can also in no way sideline the core human dignity of the accused. In this backdrop, this article explores the stumbling−blocks in criminal investigation and also offers a host of suggestions with the argument that reforms in the criminal justice system should be initiated first at the investigation stage.