The Armed Police Battalion was formed on 1 October 1975 as a specialized force of the Bangladesh Police through The Armed Police Battalion Ordinance 1979.[6][4][7]Rapid Action Battalion was created under the same ordinance in 2006 through the Armed Police Battalions (Amendment) Act, 2003.[8] Armed Police Battalion-6 was established in 1976 in Barisal originally as a river battalion.[6] Armed Police Battalion-4 was raised in 1979 in Bogura.[6]
On 1 October 1981, the Armed Police Battalion-9 was established.[6] It was moved to Khagrachar in 1987.[6] It was moved to Barisal in 1989, Bilaichari in 1993, Khulna in 1996, Mohalchari in 2000, Uttara in 2003, and finally settled in Chittagong on 5 October 2009.[6]
Armed Police Battalion-3 was established 17 July 2006 in Khulna.[6]
In June 2010, Armed Police Battalion was deployed to Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport.[9]
On 21 June 2011 Armed Police Battalion launched its first all women personal unit.[10] On 26 December, Special Security and Protection Battalion was established to provide security to VIPs of the government and foreign diplomats.[6]
Officers from the Armed Police Battalion have received training at the National Security Guard Centre in India as a part of a government plan in the aftermath of the July 2016 Dhaka attack to form a commando units in every police range and metropolitan area in Bangladesh.[11]
In January 2019, sub-inspector of Armed Police Battalion-7 was arrested in Sylhet for operating a child prostitution ring with 12 year old girls.[12]
In July 2020, Armed Police Battalion was tasked with providing security in Rohingya refugee camps in Cox's Bazar District and reduce crimes committed by the refugees.[13][14] Two special battalions, Armed Police Battalion-14 and Armed Police Battalion-16, were created for the task with 1176 personnel.[13] Armed Police Battalion-14 was established in 2016 and Armed Police Battalion-16 was established in 2019.[13][15] The unit has faced accusations of violating human rights at the camp by the refugees and in a report by the Human Rights Watch.[16] The accusations against the Armed Police Battalion included extortion, and torture.[17][18][19]
In January 2023, the government of Bangladesh announced plans to deploy Armed Police Battalion-18, Armed Police Battalion-19, and Armed Police Battalion-20 in Chittagong Hill Tracts in camps vacated by Bangladesh Army under the Chittagong Hill Tracts Peace Accord.[20]
