NCJ Number
181164
Date Published
1998
Length
311 pages
Annotation
Intended for police officials, human rights workers, and resource persons and teachers responsible for the education of police officials, this book provides an account and analysis of international human rights standards and best practice that pertain to key areas of policing; it also recommends a strategy for organizational change in police agencies.
Abstract
Part 1 focuses on the democratic framework for policing, as it describes the international system for the protection of human rights. The relationship between human rights and policing is addressed, along with the relationship between human rights and democracy. One chapter in this section considers the issue of police ethics and analyzes two international codes of behavior for police. Part 2 deals with police responses to conflict, disorder, and social tension. In two chapters, elements of international humanitarian law (the law that seeks to regulate the conduct of armed conflict and to protect victims of such conflict) are introduced, and texts that apply principles from the law of armed conflict to "internal disturbances and tensions" are summarized. The right to life and the means for its protection under international human rights law are considered as well. Part 3 addresses the treatment of suspects detained in police custody. Topics include torture, detainees' rights under international human rights law, and standards pertinent to the interviewing of suspects. Part 4 provides an example of best practice for interviewing suspects and witnesses in accordance with international standards. Part 5, which focuses on the management of change within police agencies, presents principles and best practice for strategic planning and the management of the change process in police organizations. 30 references and a subject index