NCJ Number
234018
Date Published
December 2010
Length
20 pages
Annotation
This paper examines the role of policing from a human rights perspective.
Abstract
This paper begins with a discussion of the importance of the rule of law and human rights in government, and notes that democratic policing is inseparable from matters of human rights. The author examines human rights as they exist through the U.S. Bill of Rights and the European Union Charter of Fundamental Rights, and the policing of human rights through the intervention continuum. The intervention continuum contains three stages: primary intervention - prevention: securing rights; secondary intervention - response: upholding rights; and tertiary intervention - mitigation/rehabilitation: reaffirming rights. The author discusses the need for the police in the United States to refocus their efforts to support human rights. Several obstacles for shifting the focus of policing are identified and discussed. The obstacles include: 1) the persistence of crime as the main reason for policing; 2) occupational and institutional insularity and sensitivity to criticism on the part of police; 3) police selection, socialization, and values acquisition practices; 4) the power of the police working environment; and 5) measuring what matters, counting and rewarding human rights activities. A discussion is also included on suggested improvements to policing that support the idea of policing through human rights. References