Vienna International Centre, PO Box 500, 1400 Vienna, Austria Tel: (+43-1) 26060-0, Fax: (+43-1) 26060-5866, www.unodc.org Handbook on police accountability, oversight and integrity USD 28 United Nations publication ISBN 978-92-1-130307-0 Printed in Austria Sales No. E.11.IV.5 CRIMINAL JUSTICE HANDBOOK SERIES *1057991*V.10-57991—July 2011—1,070 Cover images: Left and right: ©Photodisc.com, Centre: ©iStockphoto.com/theprint UNITED NATIONS OFFICE ON DRUGS AND CRIME Vienna Handbook on police accountability, oversight and integrity CRIMINAL JUSTICE HANDBOOK SERIES UNITED NATIONS New York, 2011 UNITED NATIONS PUBLICATION Sales No. E.11.IV.5 ISBN 978-92-1-130307-0 eISBN 978-92-1-055037-6 © United Nations, July 2011. All rights reserved. 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Publishing production: English, Publishing and Library Section, United Nations Office at Vienna. ii Acknowledgements The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) would like to express its gratitude to Anneke Osse, a consultant based in the Netherlands, who prepared the final text of thisHandbook on Police Accountability, Oversight and Integrity, and to Graham Dossett, a consultant based in the United Kingdom, who provided the initial draft for the Handbook. UNODC also wishes to acknowledge the valuable contributions received from experts from a range of backgrounds, including police officers, members of independent oversight bodies, international consultants, human rights activists and academics, in particular: Pierre Aepli, Etannibi Alemika, Josef Roy Benedict, Mick Beyers, Tom Davies, Quirine Eijkman, Hugo Frühling, Emma Gardner, Roger Gaspar, Cecil Griffiths, Martin Hardy, Kees Hindriks, Lilian Mahiri, Walter McKay, Swati Mehta, Edgar Mohar, Rachel Neild, Gillian Nevins, Sergei Nikitin, Vivienne O’Connor, Tim Parritt, Sanjay Patil, Kathrin Quesada, John Ralston, Lauri Sivonen, Everett Summerfield, Sean Tait, Daniel De Torres, Lars van Troost and Tommy Tshabalala. The following UNODC staff also contributed to the Handbook throughout its development: Estela Maris Deon, Anna Giudice Saget, Ajit Joy, Erik Larson, Pierre Lapaque, Valérie Lebaux, Danielle Murdoch, Nivio Nascimento, Emanuele Pitto, Venkata Rama Sastry, Mark Shaw, Mia Spolander, Oliver Stolpe, Arnaud Tasciyan, Sandra Valle and Dimitri Vlassis. iii Summary For the purposes of the present Handbook, accountability is defined as a system of internal and external checks and balances aimed at ensuring that police carry out their duties properly and are held responsible if they fail to do so. Such a system is meant to uphold police integrity and deter misconduct and to restore or enhance public confidence in policing. Police integrity refers to normative and other safeguards that keep police from misusing their powers and abusing their rights and privileges. For the police to be able to take responsibility for actions and wrongdoings, they need to receive proper direction. They also need to be well-prepared and equipped to carry out their functions in a professional way, and need to be assured of proper working conditions. Line managers must supervise their staff, and police actions and operations need to be reviewed and evaluated. Moreover, effective accountability requires a proper complaints system that is easily accessible to the public and that can effectively investigate allegations and recommend disciplinary sanctions or refer cases for criminal prosecution. It should also be able to make recommendations that target the underlying causes of misconduct. Effective police accountability involves many different actors representing the different layers of modern-day democracies, including government representatives, the parlia- ment, the judiciary, civil society actors and independent oversight bodies such as national human rights institutions. Primarily, it involves the police themselves. Key elements of an effective police accountability system include: " Legislation (in line with international human rights law) specifying the func- tions and powers of the police " Practical instructions based on the legislation that reflect both the spirit and the letter of the law " Opportunities for the public to voice their concerns " Policies that set priorities on how to deploy police capacity " Adequate police training, both basic and ongoing " Equipment that is adequate for prescribed police functions " Proper reporting procedures and facilities " Adequate supervision that supports officers in carrying out their duties professionally and reporting these correctly " A working culture that promotes transparency and evaluation " Monitoring of police actions and operations by both police leadership and external organs " Complaints procedures, both for making complaints to the police directly and to independent bodies " Fair and effective procedures and policies on how to deal with misconduct, including both disciplinary and criminal codes, adequate investigative capacity, procedures for punishment and appeal procedures iv " An independent body to oversee such procedures " Scrutiny and oversight involving feedback to the police in order to improve future activities and prevent future wrongdoings " Evaluation and complaints procedures that contribute to the development of new policies, procedures and instructions " Reliable statistics on police performance, related both to effectiveness in deal- ing with crime and public order, as well as to their integrity and public confidence " Procedures for overseeing the feedback, evaluation and complaints procedures and statistics v Contents Page Acknowledgements . iii Summary . iv Introduction . 1 Chapter . 1 . A . comprehensive . structure . for . effective . police . accountability . 5 Chapter . 2 . Obligations . and . responsibilities . under . international . legal . standards . 21 Chapter . 3 . Dealing . with . complaints . against . the . police . 33 Chapter . 4 . Before . and . after . police . actions . and . operations: . establishing . independent . police . oversight . and . complaints . bodies . 49 Chapter . 5 . Before, . during . and . after . police . actions . and . operations: . strengthening . internal . accountability . and . promoting . police . integrity . 75 Chapter . 6 . Before . and . after . police . operations . and . actions: . strengthening . accountability . to . the . State . 93 Chapter . 7 . Before . police . operations . and . actions: . engaging . the . public—the . role . of . civil . society . 101 Chapter . 8 . Road . map . for . effective . accountability . and . promotion . of . integrity . 111 Annexes . I . An . overview . of . international . instruments . relevant . to . policing . 117 . II . International . Code . of . Conduct . for . Public . Officials . 119 III. International . Criminal . Police . Organization . (INTERPOL) . standards . 121 Bibliography . 131 vii Introduction Law enforcement institutions are entrusted with a diverse set of tasks requiring a high degree of integrity within police agencies and their oversight. Where this does not func- tion well, law enforcement officers may become vulnerable to acting unlawfully and outside their remit. In post-conflict societies in particular, but also in many non-conflict situations, police reform interventions are much needed, often in the form of retraining for police officers with a particular focus on human rights principles. In addition, a longer-term effort is required to establish a framework for police oversight and account- ability in order to strengthen integrity within systems of policing.1 Efforts to enhance police oversight and accountability must focus on three key, related priorities. Firstly, where policing has been militarized2 and may be undemocratic and authoritarian, efforts must be made to enhance civilian control over the police. Sec- ondly, it is necessary to increase public confidence in the police by upgrading levels of police service delivery as well as by investigating and acting in cases of police miscon- duct. Finally, reducing corruption within the police is crucial. The present Handbook is one of the practical tools developed by UNODC to support countries in the implementation of the rule of law and the development of criminal justice reform. It aims to assist countries in their efforts to develop effective systems of oversight and accountability within their law enforcement authorities and enhance police integrity, and it addresses issues including: " Enhancement of police integrity and the integrity of policing 1 William G. O’Neill, Police Reform and Human Rights: A HURIST Document (New York, Joint Human Rights Strengthening Programme of the United Nations Development Programme and the Office of the High Commis- sioner for Human Rights (HURIST), 2004). In the past decade, a number of publications have been released col-