Police to Establish Special Unit to Combat Cybercrime

An independent Cyber Police Unit is going to be formed within Bangladesh Police to combat cybercrime. Initially, the specialised unit will begin operations using the police’s existing manpower and equipment under the leadership of an Additional Inspector General of Police (Additional IGP). An organisational structure will be developed later based on requirements.

The decision was conveyed in a letter sent by the Police-3 branch of the Home Ministry to the Inspector General of Police on September 21. The letter, signed by Deputy Secretary Tanvir-Al-Nasif, gave in-principle approval for forming a specialised and independent Cyber Police Unit within the organisational structure of Bangladesh Police.

The letter said in-principle approval had been given to start the activities of the Cyber Police Unit under the leadership of an Additional IGP using the police’s existing manpower and equipment. However, the unit’s full organisational structure, number of new posts, vehicles and other logistics have not yet been finalised.

The police have been instructed to send a complete proposal to the Home Ministry within three working days, including the creation of necessary posts and the inclusion of vehicles in the Table of Organisation and Equipment (TO&E).

At present, cybercrime investigations, digital evidence collection and analysis, and digital forensic activities are being carried out separately by different police units. The Criminal Investigation Department (CID), Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Cyber Unit and other relevant branches of the police are handling these activities separately.

The new unit is intended to bring these capabilities under a permanent and coordinated structure. A source at Police Headquarters said the rise in cybercrime has brought major changes in the nature of crimes in the country. Trained police personnel are needed to detect and control cybercriminals. For this reason, police officers with cyber expertise currently working in different units will be assigned to the Cyber Police Unit.

At present, the CID has a Cyber Police Centre and a Forensic Division. According to police information, the CID’s Forensic Division also conducts training on digital investigations and forensic activities. The current organisational structure of the CID also includes the post of DIG (Cyber Police Centre).

Therefore, the police’s existing cybercrime capabilities are not being built from scratch. Rather, the initiative aims to bring existing capabilities under a new organisational structure.

There are also officers dealing with cybercrime within the Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) structure of the DMP. Therefore, after the new unit is formed, the responsibilities, jurisdiction and manpower of these units are expected to be reorganised.

However, the Home Ministry’s September 21 letter does not provide detailed instructions on these matters. As a result, Home Ministry officials believe the proposed organisational plan will clarify how the new unit will work with the CID, DMP and other units, what types of cases it will investigate, and at what level local police stations or district police will remain involved.

Regarding the matter, Home Ministry Deputy Secretary Tanvir-Al-Nasif told the media that the process of forming the Cyber Police Unit is moving forward quickly. He said the initial plan is to start the unit’s activities using the existing manpower and infrastructure. He added that work is underway to send the proposed structure to the ministry quickly after making the necessary revisions.