In a major step toward improving road safety and reducing crashes, the Chattogram Metropolitan Police (CMP) 13 April 2025 inducted a dedicated Road Safety Data Cell to collect, manage, and analyze road crash data within its jurisdiction.

Part of the Bloomberg Philanthropies Initiative for Global Road Safety (BIGRS), this landmark initiative—supported by Vital Strategies—highlights the critical role of accurate and timely crash data in designing evidence-based interventions to prevent road traffic injuries and fatalities. Notably, this is the first-ever road safety data cell established within a police unit in Bangladesh.

The inauguration workshop, held at the CMP Headquarters, was presided by Addl. Police Commissioner (Admin & Finance) Humayun Kabir. “By establishing this Road Safety Cell, we aim to enhance our capacity to understand the patterns, causes, and impacts of road crashes. We hope the trainees will effectively transform their learnings into action to help prevent road crashes,” said Humayun Kabir.

The workshop included a session on “Road Safety and Database – Best Practices” led by Asfiquzzaman Aktar, Additional Commissioner (Traffic). Following that, Mirick Paala, Senior Technical Advisor for Road Traffic Injury Surveillance at Vital Strategies, conducted sessions on crash data encoding, management, analysis, and mapping. The workshop was coordinated by Kazi Shifun Newaz, BIGRS Surveillance Coordinator, and facilitated by Quazi Helal Uddin, BIGRS Enforcement Coordinator.
The Road Safety Data Cell will be responsible for systematically gathering crash data from across the city,maintaining a centralized database, conducting in-depth analysis, and producing regular reports. Insights generated by the cell will guide law enforcement, inform urban planning, and support public awareness campaigns focused on road safety.

According to the CMP office order, the cell will be overseen by Asfiquzzaman Aktar, Additional Commissioner (Traffic), and led by Assistant Police Commissioner (Crime) Md. Nurul Islam Siddique. The initiative supports both national and global efforts to reduce road traffic deaths, aligning with the United Nations’ Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021–2030.
CMP officials also announced plans to collaborate with Chattogram City Corporation (CCC), other government agencies, academic institutions, and civil society organizations to strengthen data-driven road safety initiatives. Earlier CMP signed a data-sharing agreement with CCC, and this cell will share crash data under the agreement.