Different Branches of Bangladesh Police

Tourist Police:

Resulting from earnest desire of the Honorable prime minister of People’s Republic of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina, Tourist police, a distinctly new unit has been instituted in Bangladesh Police on 6th November 2013 with the objective of helping development of the tourism industry by fascinating the foreign and the local tourist, improving ecological environment, preserving the culture and heritage of Bangladesh and thereby expediting the pace of its overall development.

The unit is tasked with the responsibilities of providing security to the tourist and protecting all the tourist spot of the country. One of the foremost objectives is to improve the image of Bangladesh as a country of peace loving people to the outside world, and to develop the tourism industry to the fullness of each potentiality.

Under the command of a Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of police, Tourist Police Bangladesh has two main divisions and each division is also separated by three zones, furthermore each zone is divided into several tourist spot. The divisions are commanded by Superintended of police (SP) and the zones are under the command of Additional Superintendent of Police (Addl. SP), whereas all the tourist spot falls under the supervision of Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP)

Range and District Police:

Outside the Dhaka region, and other metropolitan cities, police is organised into Police Ranges, which are headed by a Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG), who control several Police Districts. At present, there are seven Police Ranges in seven administrative divisions and two Police Ranges for railways and highways.

Each Police Range maintains its own Range Reserve Force (RRF) and district police also maintains its own Special Armed Force (SAF) which is responsible for emergencies and crowd control issues. They are generally activated only on orders from the Superintendent of Police, and higher-level authorities. The armed constabulary does not usually come into contact with the general public unless they are assigned to VIP duty or to maintain order during fairs, festivals, athletic events, elections, and natural disasters. They may additionally be sent to quell outbreaks of unrest, organized crime, and communal riots; to maintain key guard posts; and to participate in anti-terrorist operations.

Names of the Police Ranges in seven administrative divisions are:

Sl. No	Name of the Police Range- 7+2=9
1	Dhaka Range
2	Chittagong Range
3	Khulna Range
4	Rajshahi Range
5	Sylhet Range
6	Barisal Range
7	Rangpur Range

Another two Police Ranges are:

Sl. No	Name of the Police Range
8	Railway Range
9	Highway Range

Metropolitan Police:

In addition to the police ranges, major cities have police forces which follow the Police Commissionerate System. The Chief of the Metropolitan Police is the Police Commissioner. Created in 1976, the Dhaka Metropolitan Police is charged with maintaining security and order in the national capital and neighboring areas. Later five other metropolitan police were formed in other large cities.

Names of the Metropolitan Police are:

Sl. No	Name of the Metropolitan Police-6
1	Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP)
2	Chittagong Metropolitan Police (CMP)
3	Khulna Metropolitan Police (KMP)
4	Rajshahi Metropolitan Police (RMP)
5	Sylhet Metropolitan Police (SMP)
6	Barisal Metropolitan Police (BMP)

Detective Branch (DB):

Detective Branch (DB) is the specialized branch of a police unit. Every metropolitan police and district police has its own Detective Branch.

SWAT:

SWAT ('Special Weapons And Tactics') is an elite tactical unit of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police which was established on February 28, 2009. SWAT (Bangladesh) operates under the Detective Branch of Dhaka Metropolitan Police. SWAT unit has sophisticated weapons and equipment and they are trained both in Bangladesh and abroad. They are called in emergency need and in crisis management like terrorist attacks, hostage rescue situations, etc.

Traffic Police:

Traffic Police in the small towns come under the district police, but in the cities, the Traffic Police come under the metropolitan police. The Traffic Police are responsible for maintaining the flow of traffic, and stopping offenders in the city or town.

Special Branch (SB):

The Special Branch was established to assist in maintaining national security and also performs the functions of intelligence-gathering and counter intelligence.

Immigration Police:

The purpose of the Immigration Service is to provide immigration related service and security. The immigration service is provided by Special Branch.

Criminal Investigation Department (CID):

The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) is a special unit of Bangladesh Police responsible for carrying out investigations into crimes grievous in nature, including terrorism, murders and organized crime, and also gives forensic support to law enforcing agencies. It is headquartered in Malibagh, Dhaka, and maintains two training schools named the Detective Training School and the Forensic Training Institute. A new training institute will be started very soon for increasing the capacity of controlling the cyber crime in the country.

Railway Police (GRP):

The Railway Police is responsible for law enforcement on the Bangladesh railways, and additionally handling railway accidents. Under the command of Deputy Inspector General Railway Police Range has two Railway Districts, which are Syedpur and Chittagong, each headed by a Superintendent of Railway Police (SRP).

Highway Police:

To make the highways safer and to ensure smooth traffic management system, the government realized the necessity of Highway Police. In 2005, the Highway Police were formed. Under the Deputy Inspector General (Highway Police), the Highway Police Range has two Highway Police wings: the Eastern Wing, headquartered in Comilla, and the Western Wing, headquartered in Bogra. Both are headed by a Superintendent of Police.

Industrial Police:

To keep the law and order, the Industrial Police was created on 31 October 2010.

The Industrial Police work at four zones:

Sl. No	Unit	Location
1	Industrial Police - 1	Ashulia, Dhaka
2	Industrial Police - 2	Gazipur
3	Industrial Police - 3	Chittagong
4	Industrial Police - 4	Narayanganj

Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI):

To concentrate only in Crime Investigation; a new investigation agency of Bangladesh Police, “Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI)”; equipped with the latest technology to detect crime has formed in 2012.

Special Security and Protection Battalion (SPBn):

In 2012, one of the specialized force of Bangladesh Police, the Special Security and Protection Battalion, was raised to provide security to the head of the state, head of the government and other visiting VIPs. This force is headed by a Detective Inspector General. Primarily, this force contains two protection battalions, with plans to expand the force in the future.

Armed Police Battalion (APBn):

There are eleven Armed Police Battalions in the Bangladesh police force, which are located in different parts of Bangladesh, of which, one is a female battalion. The Chief of APBn is Additional Inspector General.

The locations of the different Armed Police Battalions are:

Sl. No	Battalion	Location
1	1st Armed Police Battalion	Uttara, Dhaka
2	2nd Armed Police Battalion	Muktagachha, Mymensingh
3	3rd Armed Police Battalion	Khulna
4	4th Armed Police Battalion	Bogra
5	5th Armed Police Battalion	Uttara, Dhaka
6	6th Armed Police Battalion	Mohalchori, Khagrachari
7	7th Armed Police Battalion	Ashulia, Dhaka
8	8th Armed Police Battalion	Sylhet (Presently deployed in Dhaka Airport)
9	9th Armed Police Battalion	Chittagong
10	10th Armed Police Battalion	Barisal
11	11th Armed Police Battalion (Female)	Uttara, Dhaka

Airport Armed Police (AAP):

The Airport Armed Police are a specialized unit of the Armed Police Battalion, the Airport Armed Police (AAP) are deployed in the international airports of Bangladesh, for purposes of maintaining security in the airports.

Rapid Action Battalion (RAB):

In 2004, the elite force of Bangladesh Police, the Rapid Action Battalion was raised, consisting of the personnel of the Bangladesh Police, Bangladesh Army, Bangladesh Navy, Bangladesh Air Force, Border Guard Bangladesh, and Bangladesh Ansar. It works under the command of Inspector General of Police.

Police Internal Oversight (PIO):

The Police Internal Oversight (PIO), a specialized wing of the Bangladesh police, was set up in 2007, to monitor and collect intelligence about the activities of the police officers across the country. This force is headed by an Assistant Inspector General (AIG) at the Police Headquarters and directly reports to the Inspector General of Police (IGP). All the units of Bangladesh Police fall under the surveillance of PIO. PIO agents are spread all over the country under direct supervision of the PIO unit located in Police Headquarters.

River Police:

The headquarters for the River Police is formed in a temporarily basis inside the Police headquarters under a Deputy Inspector General of Police.

Police Telecom and Information Management:

The building of the unit is situated in Rajarbag. It is led by a Deputy Inspector General of Police. It maintains the communication system for Bangladesh Police throughout the country.