Police Chiefs Pitch Major Structural Expansion, Proposing 4 New Battalions and Large Manpower Boost to Home Minister

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DHAKA, BANGLADESH — Senior police leadership has placed a comprehensive set of operational upgrade proposals before Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed, calling for the creation of four new Armed Police Battalions (APBn), a major capacity expansion of the National Emergency Service (999), and a steep increase in manpower across specialized policing units. The strategic blueprints were formally presented on Monday night during a closed-door session on the second day of Police Week at the Rajarbagh Police Lines.

Expanding the ‘999’ Lifeline

A major focus of the meeting centered on modernizing the National Emergency Service (999) to cope with an expanding urban population.

“Currently, the ‘999’ central command center has the technical infrastructure to process up to 100 emergency calls simultaneously,” stated Mahiul Islam, Additional Deputy Inspector General of Police Headquarters in charge of the emergency unit. “Given the growing population and rising call volumes, we have formally proposed doubling this capacity on an emergency basis to handle at least 200 concurrent calls.”

Addressing the Manpower Deficit in Major Units

Additional DIG of Police Headquarters Mahbubul Karim presented detailed data highlighting severe manpower shortages across the country’s main urban and specialized units. He pointed out that the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP)—the country’s largest urban security unit—currently operates with a force of only 34,310 personnel to secure an estimated population of 3 crore citizens. To address this gap, Karim proposed the immediate recruitment of 6,524 additional personnel for the DMP.

The structural expansion plans submitted by the police high command include:

• Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP): A proposed addition of 6,524 personnel to reinforce urban safety protocols.
• Industrial Police: The creation of 2,037 new posts to optimize security across manufacturing hubs and export processing zones.
• Specialized Divisions: Major manpower and organizational structure reforms within the Tourist Police, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), and the Chittagong Metropolitan Police (CMP).

Decentralizing Forensics and Expanding Tactical Battalions

To upgrade the country’s criminal investigation architecture, the police high command strongly urged the government to establish fully equipped digital forensics labs, cyber units, and DNA testing laboratories across every divisional city. Currently, complex forensic processing remains heavily centralized, causing delays in criminal investigations.

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Furthermore, the leadership proposed the raising of four new Armed Police Battalions. A senior official participating in the meeting noted that while APBn tactical response units are currently active across seven administrative divisions, expanding the structural footprint is vital to managing internal security, counter-terrorism support, and specialized crowd control.

Government Assurances and Phased Rollouts

Responding to the extensive list of demands, Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed maintained a realistic stance, stating that he would refrain from making empty promises simply to please the force. However, he assured the senior chiefs that the government is fully committed to fulfilling their realistic operational demands in a phased manner.

The Home Minister officially greenlit the expansion of the National Emergency Service, confirming that the state will upgrade its infrastructure to ensure the ‘999’ hotline can process 200 calls simultaneously. Furthermore, Minister Ahmed announced that the government will immediately recruit and train 800 specialized personnel to manage security operations at the newly built Third Terminal of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka.