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Key Text Policy Guidance on Support to Policing in Developing Countries

Author: I Clegg, R Hunt and J Whetton
Date: 2000
Size: 191 pages (892 KB)

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Summary

Good policing is an essential component of good government. Effective and democratic police services in developing countries are vital to achieve safety, security, access to justice and the reduction of poverty. Yet, can police alone deliver the goods? What needs to be emphasised to develop accountable and sustainable police services able to respond to the needs of all sectors of the community? What has been learned from practical experience on these issues? How, why and when should the Department for International Development become involved in supporting policing projects in developing countries?

This report from the Centre for Development Studies addresses these questions and aims to provide policy and technical guidance on assistance to building effective and democratic police services in developing countries. The report provides valuable lessons for policing in developing countries by drawing on the experiences of a range of countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America. The report also draws on developed countries’ experiences, particularly the UK, the US and Northern Ireland.

Support to policing which emphasises the interests of the poor and vulnerable is both feasible and necessary, especially given that policing is so often driven by very different interests from those of the poor. The key to strengthening such policing is to ensure that it is carried out through a variety of partnerships between a state police service, other government and non-government agencies, and citizens. Police cannot act alone in providing security and effective protection of rights. Other conclusions from the report are:

Partnership is seen as a major means of breaking down the divide between the police and the general public
Whilst formal, legal accountability of the police to elected government is vital, partnership is a way of ensuring wider accountability within civil society
The effective protection of rights and access to justice depend on the wider institutions of a democratic polity and the existence of a relatively egalitarian civil society
In spite of the need for “responsibilisation” of citizens, it is recognised that citizens vary in their capacity to access other forms of protection. Access to resources is vital for partnerships to work properly
The poor are most at risk particularly because they receive less protection from public and private policing and because their already limited assets make it difficult for them to deal with the consequences of crime and injustice
The identification of risk and the need for protection and access to justice must be local and targeted on specific social groups.

Although there are no ready-made or universal recipes for good policing, suggestions for donors to support policy projects in developing countries include the need to:

Recognise that the impact of crime is not uniform. The poor and vulnerable suffer disproportionately from its effects
Implement a holistic approach that does not deal with the public or state police in isolation from the rest of the formal justice system
Recognise and encourage the role played by other formal and informal agencies
Achieve a high level of commitment from police, government and all sections of civil society to the concept of police-public co-production of safety and order, ensuring that effective mechanisms for accountability are in place
Develop long-term strategic approaches grounded in stakeholder analysis and participatory planning, emphasising full involvement of disadvantaged groups
Invest in local community infrastructure and access to material to make partnerships work and reduce the vulnerability of those most at risk.

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Source: Clegg, I., Hunt, R. and Whetton, J., 2000, 'Policy Guidance on Support to Policing in Developing Countries', report prepared for the Department for International Development by Centre for Development Studies, Swansea,
Author: Robert Hunt , jeanandbob@hunts.demon.co.uk
Centre for Development Studies, Swansea (CDS), http://www.swan.ac.uk/cds
Organisation: Centre for Development Studies, Swansea (CDS), http://www.swan.ac.uk/cds