Policing in Federal States
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NEPAL STEPSTONES PROJECTS Policing in Federal States Philipp Fluri and Marlene Urscheler (Eds.) Policing in Federal States Edited by Philipp Fluri and Marlene Urscheler Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces (DCAF) www.dcaf.ch The Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces is one of the world’s leading institutions in the areas of security sector reform (SSR) and security sector governance (SSG). DCAF provides in-country advisory support and practical assis- tance programmes, develops and promotes appropriate democratic norms at the international and national levels, advocates good practices and makes policy recommendations to ensure effective democratic governance of the security sector. DCAF’s partners include governments, parliaments, civil society, international organisations and the range of security sector actors such as police, judiciary, intelligence agencies, border security ser- vices and the military. 2011 Policing in Federal States Edited by Philipp Fluri and Marlene Urscheler Geneva, 2011 Philipp Fluri and Marlene Urscheler, eds., Policing in Federal States, Nepal Stepstones Projects Series # 2 (Geneva: Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces, 2011). Nepal Stepstones Projects Series no. 2 © Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces, 2011 Executive publisher: Procon Ltd., <www.procon.bg> Cover design: Angel Nedelchev ISBN 978-92-9222-149-2 PREFACE In this book we will be looking at specimens of federative police or- ganisations. As can be expected, the federative organisation of such states as Germany, Switzerland, the USA, India and Russia will be reflected in their police organisation, though the extremely decentralised approach of Switzerland with hardly any central man- agement structures can hardly serve as a paradigm of ‘the’ federal police organisation. We have enclosed a description of the Spanish police as an example of a ‘federal police system in the making,’ as we thought readers from prospective federal states might find it in- teresting to look into the management of change from a centralised unitary system to a more decentralised one. The editors of the book find it appropriate to add at this point a word of caution. The political and security arrangements of most federal states are an expression of, and reflection on, their history of state- and nation-building. They were not first centralised states (or if, only briefly so) whose governments then decided to ‘federal- ise’ in the hope of solving pressing social, ethnic, caste, etc. prob- lems, but rather: they were confederate conglomerates of quasi-in- dependent subjects which historically grew together but wished to maintain much of their previous sovereignty. And equality before the law for each and every citizen was an important building element in this process. The editors hope that these handy studies will help readers to understand how and why federal police organisations came into being, and function according to decentralised legislative and deci- sion-making frameworks. The articles also seek to highlight the in- creased demand for coordination and harmonisation of the policing approaches in federal states. Philipp Fluri, Ph.D. Deputy Director DCAF Geneva, February 2011 v CONTENTS The Federal Police System in India..............................................1 G.P. Joshi Introduction .................................................................................1 The Police System.......................................................................4 Federal Policing – Some Important Issues and Schemes..........11 Police Accountability..................................................................20 Police Reform – Initiatives and Resistance................................25 Conclusion.................................................................................30 The Police in a Federal System: The Case of the USA .............32 Otwin Marenin Political Structure ......................................................................32 The Policing Systems of the USA..............................................38 Challenges and Reform Projects ...............................................45 Accountability ............................................................................46 Transparency and Accountability...............................................55 A Note on Sources ....................................................................59 Russian Police ...........................................................................60 Vladimir Ragozin Description of the Political Structure of the State.......................60 The National Police (Militsiya or Militia in Russia) ......................66 Federal Structures of the Russian Federation Police.................70 Transparency and Accountability of the Police in Russia...........78 Challenges and Reform Projects ...............................................79 References................................................................................80 Spanish Law Enforcement Structures and Organization............81 Manuel Marion Introduction ...............................................................................81 Description of the Political Structure of the State.......................81 Spanish Judicial System............................................................83 Structure of the Spanish Police Services ..................................89 Task Assignment.......................................................................91 Transparency and Accountability of the Police .........................97 Challenges ................................................................................98 vii viii Policing in Federal States Switzerland – Police Country Profile ........................................104 Sara Stocker and Lydia Amberg Introduction .............................................................................104 Structure of the Swiss Police...................................................105 Lucerne Cantonal Police..........................................................108 Cooperation between the Federal Government and the Cantons...................................................................................109 Police Training.........................................................................111 International Cooperation ........................................................111 Conclusion...............................................................................112 Sources and Additional Information.........................................112 About the Authors ....................................................................115 The Federal Police System in India G.P. Joshi Introduction Political Profile India, with an area of 3,287,782 km² and a population of about 1.15 bil- lion, is a sovereign, secular, democratic republic, following a parliamen- tary system of governance. The Indian parliament is a bicameral legislature consisting of a lower house (the Lok Sabha or House of the People) and an upper house (the Rajya Sabha or Council of States). State legislatures are mostly unicam- eral with a legislative assembly (Vidhan Sabha) composed of members elected for five-year terms. The state has a federal structure. India is a union of 28 states and seven union territories,1 including the National Capital Territory of Delhi. The government at the centre is composed of a council of ministers headed by the Prime Minister. Collectively, they are responsible to the Lok Sabha (House of the People in the Parliament). In states, the council of ministers headed by the Chief Minister is responsible to the Vidhan Sabha of the state. Direct elections are held on the basis of adult franchise to elect mem- bers both to the Lok Sabha as well as Vidhan Sabhas. The political party winning the majority of seats forms the government. Legislatures Powers, functions and responsibilities of the union and states are defined in the Constitution of India. The Constitution distributes the legislative powers between the Parliament and the State Legislatures.2 It prescribes three lists of subjects, which are spelt out in the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution. 1 Union territories are areas that do not form part of states’ jurisdiction and are governed by the central government. 2 The Constitution of India (1949), Article 246. 1 2 Policing in Federal States List I is the Union List that contains the subjects over which the Parlia- ment has the sole power to make laws. List II is the State List that speci- fies the items over which the state legislature has the exclusive power to make laws. Finally, List III is the Concurrent List that documents subjects on which both the Parliament and the State Legislatures have concurrent powers to make laws. The Parliament has the power to make laws for the whole or any part of the country, while the State legislature can make laws for the whole or any part of the state only.3 The Parliament is also empowered to make any law with respect to any subject not enumerated in the State or Concurrent List.4 If any provision of a law passed by the State legislature is incompatible with any provision of a law made by the Parliament, the latter prevails.5 The parliament has the power to legislate in respect of any matter in the State List if there is a Proclamation of Emergency.6 Even when the Proclamation of Emergency is not in operation, the Par- liament can legislate with respect to a matter in the State List provided the Upper House