This module is a resource for lecturers This section explains the ways in which internal and external control and oversight mechanisms contribute to police accountability taking into consideration UNODC's conceptual framework of 'accountability before, during and after the act'. Throughout the section, the terms 'ex-ante, ongoing, ex-post oversight' will also be used to reflect these three stages of accountability. Show
Internal control within the policeThe first degree of control in any police accountability system is the internal control mechanisms within the police service. Effective internal control mechanisms have an essential role to play within a police accountability system, both from a preventive and reactive perspective. Such mechanisms have three main components:
Accountability before the act: Professional and integrity standardsAs mentioned in the previous sections, all police actions should be based on law. However, legal stipulations in the laws may be insufficient when it comes to day-to-day exercise of policing powers. It is imperative, therefore, that police services develop comprehensive professional standards (codes of conduct), providing clear guidance on the exercise of policing duties and powers in practice. By way of example, having clear professional standards, guidelines and instructions on arrest and detention procedures would be a good first step for preventing police officers from breaching the law during arrests. Nonetheless, professional standards are not enough. As stated earlier, in the framework of laws, police officers often have a wide degree of discretion in exercising their powers. There may be circumstances where police officers face ethical dilemmas such as the tendency for bending certain laws to achieve what they perceive as greater law enforcement objectives, or the tendency for applying deceptive interrogation tactics to extract crucial information or confession from suspects (ICRC, 2013, p. 140). Precisely for such situations, police services need to establish a code of ethics which sets overarching integrity standards that are built upon the values of impartiality, fairness, equality, justice, honesty as well as principles for respecting, human rights and dignity (Costa and Thorens, 2015). Depending on the administrative system of the country, such professional and integrity standards may be developed by, or in consultation with, the Ministry that the police are reporting to. Evidence also shows that if integrity standards are developed in a participatory approach, with the police and other actors, there is a higher chance that they will be taken on board and implemented by the police. If well promoted, a code of ethics setting out integrity standards has the potential to: give guidance for action to police officers facing ethical dilemmas; contribute to a better identification, analysis and resolution of ethical problems; and assist the exercise of leadership and management throughout the organization and enhance public trust in the police (CoE, 2001, Explanatory Memorandum). There is no prescriptive international standard on what a code of ethics should include. Nevertheless, the European Code of Police Ethics (2010) is widely recognized and promoted as a model code internationally. Consisting of 66 articles, the Code is organized under the following sub-headings:
Similar standards are articulated in: the Seoul Declaration (AGN/68/RES/4), adopted by the INTERPOL Group of Experts on Corruption; the Harare Resolution on the Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials (2001), adopted by the Southern African Regional Police Chiefs Cooperation Organisation (SARPCCO); and the United Nations Convention against Corruption (2003) adopted by General Assembly resolution 58/4 (see article 8). Developing professional and integrity standards are not sufficient by themselves for ensuring compliance. Police services should widely promote the code of ethics and integrity standards across the organization; and should incorporate the implementation of integrity standards into recruitment, training, and promotion processes. Developing and effectively implementing integrity standards are important preventive tools for internal control and thereby contribute to 'accountability before the act'. ( Module 14 on Professional Ethics of the E4J University Module Series on Integrity and Ethics provides more information on integrity standards and ethics for specific professions.) Accountability during the act: Ongoing supervision and monitoring of organizational processes and individual behaviourThe second component of internal control aims at achieving 'accountability during the act' through establishing supervision and monitoring mechanisms. The primary objectives of continuous supervision and monitoring is to verify compliance of day-to day policing practices with the law, policies and integrity standards; and detect unlawful and/or unethical behaviour (ICRC, 2013, p. 140). Achieving these objectives requires that a clear chain of command be established, the purpose of which is twofold. First, such a chain of command would enable police services to trace back the ultimate responsibility for a police act or omission (CoE, 2001, article 17). This is important because, as per international standards, in addition to the police officer who committed an offence, his/her immediate supervisor who instructed such act, or was not able to prevent the commission of the offence should also be held to account ( Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms, 1990, principle 24). Second, a chain of command would clearly establish the respective monitoring roles and responsibilities of all police officers with supervisory ranks in the hierarchy. Effective supervision and monitoring within police services can be achieved through a range of procedures and mechanisms. Below are selected examples:
It is important to note that the role of supervising police officers is not limited to monitoring internal procedures and their subordinates. They should 'lead by example' by displaying the highest integrity standards in their daily professional conduct, to promote a culture of ethical conduct across the organization (CoE, 2001, article 20). Another important way of promoting a culture of integrity across the organization is to highlight the practices of officers who consistently uphold human rights. This could be done through acknowledging exemplary human rights compliant actions of officers in internal newsletters, or even promoting such practice on the social media. Highlighting positive practices would signal that the senior management values the implementation of integrity standards in practice. (For additional information, see the E4J University Module Series on Integrity and Ethics). In sum, a well-established chain of command with managers having clearly defined supervisory roles, and effective monitoring mechanisms also contributes to police accountability 'during the act'. Accountability after the act: Complaints handling mechanismsThe third and perhaps the most important component of internal control are mechanisms to handle both internal reports of wrongdoing and public complaints against the police in an impartial, timely and thorough manner. The positive contribution of effective accountability mechanisms to public trust in police is acknowledged in the literature (Goldsmith, 2005). As per international standards and good practices around the world, the following standards ensure effective internal complaint handling and disciplinary mechanisms:
There is no doubt that internal complaint-handling mechanisms have the advantages of better knowledge of police culture and environment, greater resources for investigation (expertise and technical means), and higher likelihood of cooperation of the accused officer with the investigators (UNHRC, 2010, para. 25-26; OSCE, 2009, para. 87). However, if police services can investigate criminal and disciplinary offences by themselves, there is a risk that investigations would not be carried out thoroughly, systemic failures would not be identified, perpetrators would not be punished appropriately, and a culture of impunity would result. Therefore, external control and oversight actors should be actively involved in all stages of accountability before, during, after the act. Executive controlIn most countries, the executive plays an important role in the police accountability system. Since the police are hierarchically a part of the executive (most often falling under the portfolio of the Ministry of Interior or the Ministry of Justice), the nature of the executive's function is more of 'control' - implying direct capacity to modify police actions - than of 'oversight', as is the case with other external actors in the accountability system. While the extent of the executive's role depends on the administrative and governance structure of a state, the executive contributes to police accountability in various ways, at all three stages.
One means by which the executive could meaningfully contribute to police accountability, would be by ensuring that strategic and policy setting documents are in line with international human rights standards and promote integrity across the police service. For instance, incorporating compliance with integrity standards as a key criterion for recruitment and promotion of police officers would help mainstream a culture of ethics across the organization. By contrast, performance criteria that measure operational performance by the number of arrests, for example, may result in high incidence of arbitrary arrests, in violation of international human rights standards. Country examples of executive controlIn Kenya, the Government cancelled the recruitment of 3000 officers and suspended 60 senior officers after an investigation by the Anti-Corruption Commission revealed that up to 80% of the candidates had either paid bribes or used their connections to get jobs (BBC, 2005). In Slovenia, while most disciplinary misconduct complaints are handled by the police, a ministerial panel directly investigates the complaints in which complainants are children or members of national or ethnic communities or minorities or other vulnerable groups (Slovenia Police Tasks and Powers Act, 2013, Section IV). One key challenge with executive control is that inspectorates and other executive mechanisms are often not perceived by the public as sufficiently independent to ensure police accountability. It is particularly problematic in countries where the inspectorate is directly appointed by, and reporting to, the Minister, in the absence of transparency. In such cases it would be possible for a Minister to influence the inspectorate's work to cover up wrongdoing within the police; or instrumentalize the work of the inspectorate to further the political agenda. Judicial oversight of the policeThe judiciary is an indispensable element of a police accountability system, whereby judges and prosecutors have statutory powers to exercise ex-ante, ongoing and ex-post control and oversight of the police.
While the judiciary has a crucial role in police accountability, in practice there are certain limitations and challenges to an effective judicial oversight of the police. Firstly, there is usually a limit to the police powers that are subjected to ex-ante judicial control. Not all police powers can be subjected to prior judicial authorization, and thus countries typically subject only the police powers that are considered to be most intrusive, to ex-ante judicial control such as the surveillance of electronic and telecommunications. The extent of police powers requiring ex-ante judicial control varies across jurisdictions. There are certain types of policing functions such as undercover policing, which is typically not placed under ex-ante judicial control in many countries. Usually police services determine the rules guiding the conduct of undercover police operatives. The inherently secret nature of undercover work, combined with the lack of ex-ante control on the application of undercover policing methods leaves very little room for effective judicial oversight, or any other external oversight for that matter. In most cases, undercover methods of the law enforcement come into scrutiny ex-post facto; following complaints and lawsuits filed against police officers or services. There are, however, increasing calls by experts and organizations specialized in policing and human rights to subject undercover policing to prior judicial oversight (Liberty UK, 2013; JUSTICE, 2011). Whether undercover policing and other potentially controversial policing methods raises questions on whether the scope of ex-ante judicial control should be extended; and if so whether the judiciary would be able to effectively oversee such policing methods. Secondly, with respect to ex-ante review of surveillance warrants if the judges who review warrant requests by the police do not have the necessary knowledge and expertise on intrusive investigative measures and their implications for human rights, they may not be able to critically assess the necessity and proportionality of such measures (Wills, 2015, p. 55). Even if they possess such expertise, when the judges are not strictly independent of the executive, they may be hesitant to reject law enforcement's investigation methods, especially for investigating cases related to terrorism or organized crime, or related to politics; showing, instead, a tendency to rubber-stamp warrant requests. Thirdly, in many criminal justice systems the prosecution and the police have a very close cooperation and working relations. It might be difficult, therefore, for prosecutors to effectively scrutinize police compliance with human rights during an investigation they are supposed to supervise; or investigate the offences of police officers whom they have worked with before (Born et.al, 2012, p. 202). Countries attempt to mitigate these challenges by: assigning specialized judges for reviewing warrants, and special prosecutors for investigating offences by the police (CoE, 2009, para. 85); or establishing independent investigative mechanisms mandated to investigate allegations of most serious crimes committed by the police. Parliamentary oversight of the policeEmbodying the ultimate democratic legitimacy, parliaments exercise legislative, budgetary and monitoring functions before, during and after police actions.
Country examples of parliamentary oversightThe South African National Assemblyhas a permanent committee called the Portfolio Committee on Police, which is exclusively tasked with police oversight. To that end, the committee has been effectively using legislative, budgetary and monitoring powers to oversee the police. As part of its monitoring work, the committee has developed a standardized questionnaire for the police and has been using it in its regular and unannounced visits to police stations for more effective and coordinated oversight (APCOF, 2014). In 2018, the Parliament of Georgiaestablished a temporary fact-finding commission regarding the murder of two teenage boys. The prosecution and the trial of the case sparked massive public outcry when it was revealed that an employee of the Office of the Public Prosecutor, who is a relative of a key witness in the case, attempted to conceal evidence. Acquittal of suspects led to large rallies, the resignation of the chief public prosecutor, and the establishment of the ad hoc parliamentary commission. The Commission has reviewed case material, summoned police officials who carried out the investigation, and issued recommendations for the Ministry of Interior and the Police (Civil.ge, 2018). Parliamentary oversight has certain shortcomings and challenges with scrutinizing the police. Firstly, parliamentarians cannot fully dedicate their time and attention to issues related to police oversight. Being a member of a parliamentary police oversight committee is one of the multiple duties Members of Parliaments (MPs) have. Secondly, most MPs do not have the substantive expertise that is necessary for effectively overseeing the police. With technology, police investigation methods and new forms of crime getting ever more complicated, it is conceivable that MPs may not be able to ask the right questions to oversee complex police functions and activities. Thirdly, there is always an inherent risk that parliamentarians will use oversight tools, mechanisms, and information obtained through their oversight activities to further their political agenda or inflict maximum damage to their rival politicians. In such cases, appointment of police chiefs, inspections and parliamentary investigations carry the risk of being unduly politicized (Wills, 2010, p. 42-43). Oversight by independent institutionsThe previous subsections referred to the potential challenges encountered when allegations of police misconduct are investigated internally by the police or executive bodies; and overseen by the judiciary and the legislature. It is widely accepted that confidence in police, which is a prerequisite to effective policing, erodes significantly when the public perceives that police abuses are not investigated effectively (CoE, 2001, article 61 commentary; OSCE, 2009, para. 88; UNHRC, 2010; Tait, Frank and Ndung'u, 2011, p. 1). Therefore, over the last decades, international normative instruments have emphasized the need for an effective and independent investigation of alleged offences committed by the police, in particular the cases of use of force and of extrajudicial, arbitrary and summary executions ( Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms, 1990, article 22; United Nations Principles on the Effective Prevention and Investigation of Extra-legal, Arbitrary and Summary Executions, Economic and Social Council resolution 1989/65, Principles 9-10). The European Court of Human Rights, through a series of landmark rulings, established five key principles necessary for an effective investigation of complaints against law enforcement. As per these principles, investigations should: ensure the independence of investigators, be able to gather adequate evidence, be conducted promptly after the incident, and allow for public scrutiny and victim involvement in the investigative process (CoE, 2009, p. 3). In recognition of these standards and principles, representatives of international and regional actors, such as the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions and the Council of Europe Human Rights Commissioner have called for the establishment of independent police complaint bodies ('IPCB') as they are best suited to conduct effective investigations of police complaints (CoE, 2009; UNHRC, 2010). Indeed, countries around the world, including the ones which have a history of pervasive and serious police abuses, have chosen to set-up IPCBs. While the precise institutional composition and mandate varies across the country contexts, the most effective and successful IPCBs seem to have the following features (CoE, 2009; UNHRC, 2010; UNODC, 2011, p. 69-70):
In an accountability system, IPCBs' role is mostly of an ex-post nature, investigating complaints against the police. Although the complaint handling processes of IPCBs vary, depending on their exact mandates and powers, handling of complaints typically proceeds as follows:
In addition to the aforementioned complaints handling procedure, some IPCBs are mandated to carry out regular monitoring and/or launch own-motion, thematic reviews of controversial policing policies without a complaint. Country examples of IPCBsThe Police Ombudsman of Northern Ireland and the Danish Independent Police Complaints Authority are two examples of IPCBs with a wide mandate, investigating all criminal and disciplinary complaints against the police. The Independent Office for Police Conduct in England and Wales, the Independent Police Conduct Authority in New Zealand and the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission in Australia are IPCBs with a limited mandate, only investigating the most serious crimes and misconduct. In addition to the examples above, several IPCBs around the world have either quasi or full investigative powers, such as the Jamaican Independent Commission of Investigations (INDECOM), South African IPID, Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission in Malaysia. The Danish IPCB has an exceptional power of taking binding decisions on disciplinary investigations, and its decision is final. Most of the other IPCBs comply with the regular procedure of submitting investigation reports to either the police or the prosecution for disciplinary sanctions or prosecution. While the establishment of IPCBs has been increasingly recommended by the international community, IPCB's capacities would be greatly compromised if they are not truly independent of the police and executive, not given a realistic mandate and appropriate investigative powers, and not provided with the relevant human and financial resources. A toothless IPCB, which raises public expectation of police accountability, but in practice cannot function effectively would do more damage than not having such an institution at all. It is also important to note that IPCBs are not the only independent oversight institutions in a police accountability system. Ombudsman institutions, national human rights institutions, anti-corruption commissions, independent audit agencies are among the bodies that are independent of the police and the executive. These institutions often report to the Parliament and monitor various aspects of law enforcement depending on their mandates and powers. Oversight by civil society and the mediaCivil society and the media have an ancillary, yet essential, role in the police accountability system. Their oversight functions are more indirect to those of the judiciary, parliament and independent oversight mechanisms, since they do not have a formal mandate to authorize, scrutinize or investigate police actions. Nevertheless, civil society and media act as 'watchdogs' and bridge police accountability and the public opinion. Civil societyCivil society organizations contribute to the police accountability in different ways at all three stages of oversight:
Examples of oversight by civil society
The mediaBoth the activities of the police and the crucial work of the aforementioned oversight actors would be largely unknown to the general public if it were not for the media. The role of the media in police accountability, however, goes beyond reporting. The media contribute to police accountability by:
The last function is particularly crucial for shedding light on police abuse, systemic issues in police governance and initiating public debate around these topics. The points listed above can be considered as traditional roles of the conventional media in overseeing the police. However, the rise of the social media brought a new dimension to the debate about media and police accountability. The widespread use of social media platforms, and the sharing of video footage of police abuse (either through recording of by-standers, witnesses or even victims; or the disclosure of CCTV footage) often draw significant public attention to an incident in a short span of time. This leads to the incident being picked up by the conventional media, as well as complaints and oversight bodies. By way of example, Walter Scott, an unarmed man fleeing from the police in the United States, was shot dead by a police officer, who then planted a weapon on the victim's body and informed his colleagues through radio that the man had attempted to grab the weapon. However, the entire incident had been filmed by a passerby, and was posted on social media. Upon the release of the video, the police service arrested the officer, supported his indictment and fired him. The officer was later sentenced to 20 years in prison (Zuckerman, 2016; Blinder, 2017). This example illustrates the potential of social and other forms of media to ensure that appropriate action is taken. Key debates: Ethical and legal considerations of media reporting on police abuseThere are certain risks and ethical considerations associated with the media investigating and reporting on police action and potential abuses. Firstly, in the wake of an incident, while internal and external investigations are still ongoing, media coverage should be careful not to violate the presumption of innocence concerning the accused officer. Secondly, reporting on an incident can carry the risk of violating the privacy of the victim and their relatives. Given the media's significant capacity to influence public opinion, these concerns raise questions about the need for developing ethical guidelines on investigating and reporting on police incidents. Module 10 on Media Integrity and Ethics of the E4J University Module Series on Integrity and Ethics provides further information on media and ethics in more general terms. Besides the ethical considerations, journalists and media organizations around the world encounter several challenges in overseeing the police. Laws restricting access to information and criminalizing journalistic activity are amongst the primary legal challenges. Most countries have information classification laws to protect national security interests. However, if such laws are not in line with international standards, governments and their agencies may tend to over-classify information or impose other unnecessary barriers, which can compromise the role of the media. The media may be hesitant to carry out investigative journalism on issues related to policing in instances where there are laws and practices that criminalize the publishing of leaked information, where journalists are compelled to reveal their confidential sources; or where journalists are not provided with safeguards from intrusive surveillance. Examples of media oversightThe Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) is an investigative reporting platform formed by 40 non-profit investigative centres, scores of journalists and several major regional news organizations around the globe. The network covers Europe, Africa, Asia and Latin America. It was established in 2006 and since then has been carrying out transnational investigative reporting and promoting technology-based approaches to exposing organized crime and corruption worldwide. By way of example, in Serbia, five police chiefs, including the head of the criminal police were dismissed after their connections to a drug lord were revealed by joint investigations undertaken by Serbian local media and the OCCPR (Dojčinovic and Jovanović, 2014). Monitoring by International ActorsInternational actors also play a role in promoting police accountability at the national level. Apart from the rulings of some regional courts (such as the European Court of Human Rights or Inter-American Court of Human Rights), which have binding effect; most international actors do not have the mandate to directly influence laws, policies and practices. Nevertheless, United Nations Treaty Monitoring Bodies and Special Rapporteurs play an important role in fostering police accountability through norm setting, official country visits (especially inspection of detention facilities), individual complaint mechanisms and urgent actions, and supporting the capacities of local oversight actors (see, for example, with respect to children in conflict with the law, Van Keirsbilck and Grandfils, 2017). This section provided an overview of actors and oversight mechanisms to ensure police accountability. There is no doubt that such mechanisms can function most effectively in democratic societies, where there is an established culture of transparency and accountability, a tradition of participatory and inclusive policymaking; constitutional provisions for safeguarding human rights; robust legal and institutional framework establishing the role, powers and functions of oversight actors, and resources for oversight actors to carry out their duties effectively. However, there is no country which has all the aforementioned features, and in which all oversight actors and mechanisms work perfectly. That is why the section referred to challenges with respect to each oversight actor. Societies around the world continue to endure the effects of regimes where corruption is rampant, the rule of law is jeopardized, and where there is not sufficient political will, institutional capacity, expertise and resources to hold the police accountable. However, this does not mean that international human rights law, accountability standards and examples of good practices around the world would not be relevant in such contexts. On the contrary, in such settings, it is crucial to promote international and regional standards, illustrate how countries in transition to democracy in other parts of the world reformed their accountability structures and established police oversight mechanisms; and engage students to discuss preconditions for such oversight actors to be effective in their own countries. In doing so, it is also important to highlight that no country has achieved 'effective police accountability, integrity, oversight mechanisms' overnight; and that as policing evolves and will continue to evolve in the future due to new security and socio-political developments; so will the mechanisms and actors for police oversight need to be reviewed and assessed. Next: Topic three - Crosscutting and contemporary issues in police accountabilityBack to topWhat is an independent civilian agency that audits complaints and investigations against police?A civilian review board is generally charged with the duty of reviewing complaints and making recommendations as to disciplinary action after the police department has completed its own investigation and made a disciplinary recommendation.
Which of the following branches of a police organization is tasked with investigating charges of wrongdoing involving members of the department?Most police departments around the country have an internal affairs division that is responsible for investigating misconduct allegations and disciplining officers.
What is the term used to describe those that aggressively misuse police power for personal gain?Corruption—the abuse of police authority for gain—is one type of mis- conduct that has been particularly prob- lematic.
Which is a reason ethics are important to law enforcement?In law enforcement, ethics is the foundation of right and wrong and is a crucial part of the officer code. Agency administrators try to keep control over unethical behavior and have changed some of their procedures to weed out unethical employees, both before they are hired and during their employment.
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