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Challenges for the police investigating border crime in Bangladesh: An exploratory study on the Bangladesh Police

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  • Mostak Bari Fahim,
  • Nelufer Yesmen
Mostak Bari Fahim
Postgraduate Student
Bio
Nelufer Yesmen
Faculty
Bio

Published 2025-11-26

Keywords

  • border crime investigation,
  • investigation challenges,
  • nature of border crime,
  • causes of border crime,
  • multi-agency collaboration

Copyright (c) 2025 Mostak Bari Fahim, Nelufer Yesmen

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

How to Cite

“Challenges for the police investigating border crime in Bangladesh: An exploratory study on the Bangladesh Police: Wyzwania związane z policyjnymi dochodzeniami w sprawie przestępstw granicznych w Bangladeszu. Badanie eksploracyjne dotyczące policji Bangladeszu” (2025) Archives of Criminology, p. 36 pp. doi:10.7420/AK2025.07.
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Abstract

Border crime in the north-western region of Bangladesh is severe, as illegal activities such as illegal trade, drug trafficking and unauthorised border crossings occur on a regular basis. This study explores the challenges faced by the Bangladesh Police in investigating border crime
and examines the nature and causes of these offences. The research uses a qualitative approach, collecting primary data through in-depth interviews with investigation officers from police stations located in border areas. The data were coded, and later revealed several themes and subthemes. The findings of this study indicate that open borders, a lack of supervision and corruption among agencies are the primary causes. These offences are often committed by powerful individuals who exploit young and economically vulnerable populations to carry out such activities.
Investigative challenges include insufficient evidence, excessive caseloads, personnel shortages, limited access to information, inadequate financial support, political pressures, misleading sources, hostile environments and poor communication systems in border areas. The study suggests that increasing resources, depoliticising law enforcement, providing support to secure evidence, enhancing inter-agency collaboration and improving access to information can help reduce these investigative challenges.

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