Police Accountability

483 Words2 Pages
The purposes of the Police Accountability, Oversight and Integrity Handbook, is to defined accountability as checks and balances aimed to ensure police performed their duties appropriately and that they are held accountable for their actions ( ). This process holds police accountable for their integrity, deter misconduct, and restore or enhance public confidence in policing in their community ( ). Police integrity is everything; it is the driving force to keep them from misusing their powers and abusing their rights and privileges ( ). Furthermore, in order for them to take accountable for their actions and wrongdoings, they need to receive proper direction and guidance from their management…show more content…
Some of the key elements to an effective police accountability system consist of: Legislation (in line with international human rights law) specifying the functions 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; 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; and procedures for punishment and appeal procedures; an independent body to oversee such procedure; 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 dealing with crime and public order, as well as to their integrity and public confidence; and procedures for overseeing the feedback, evaluation and complaints procedures and statistics
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