Promoting Human Rights Professionalism in the Liberian Police Force (English)
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Transcript of Promoting Human Rights Professionalism in the Liberian Police Force (English)
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by Ceci l Griffit hs
edited by Liam Mahony
Promoting Human RightsProfessionalismin the Liberian Police Force
A Tactical Noteb ook publ ished bythe N ew Tact icsProject
of th e Center for Vict ims of Torture
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PublishedbyThe Center for Victims of TortureNe w Tactics in Human RightsProject
717 East River RoadMinneapol is, MN 55455 USAw w w.cvt.org, w w w.newtactics.org
NotebookSeriesEditorLiam Mah ony
DesignandCopyeditingSusan Everson
The Leadership Academy of the Desmond Tutu Peace Centre, and The Center for Victi ms of Torture wishto ackno wledge the fol lowing inst i tut ions that provided support for the African regional workshop of the
New Tactics in Human RightsProject:
Th e Rockefel ler Foundat ion
Th e Internat ional Center on No nviolent Conf l ict ,
Norwegian Church Aid
The European Union Conference, Workshop and Cultural InitiativesFund in conjunct ion with theSouth Af r ican National Trust
The United States Department of State ,
The United StatesInst i tute of Peace ,
Donors who wish to remain anonymous.We are also great ly indebte d to the work of numerous interns and volunteers who have contributed theirt ime and expert ise to the advancement of the project and of human rights.
The Ne w Tact ics project has also benef i ted from more tha n 2000 hours of w ork from individual volunteersand interns as well as donat ions of in-kind support.Some of the inst i tut ional sponsors of th is work includeM acale ster Col lege , the Minneapol is College of Art & Design (MCAD), the Universi ty of Minnesota, theHigher Educat ion Consort ium for Urban A ffairs (HECUA), the Minnesota Just ice Founda tion and the publ icrelat ions f i rm of Padilla Speer Beardsley.
The opinions, f indings andconclusio ns or recommendat ions expressed on thi ssi te are those of the NewTact ics project and do not necessarily reflect the views of our fundersFor a full list of projectsponsorsseew w w.newta ctics.or g.
The views expressed in this report do not necessarily reflect those of the Ne w Tactics in Human RightsProject . The project does not advocate specif ic tactics or policie s.
2004CenterforVictimsofTortureThis publication may be freely reprod uced in print and in electronic form as longas thiscopyright n otice appears on all copies.
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65
4Author biographyLetter from New Tactics project manager
Introduct ion
The Liberian context & the birth of LINLEA
9A police associat ion w orking for human rights
The Center for Victims of TortureNew Tactics in Human RightsProject
717 East River Road
Minneapol is, MN 55455 USAw w w.cvt.org , w w w.newtactics.org
1312
11Repression against LINLEACauses of police abuse
Necessary resources
13The police & the military
1614
14Police & human rights organizat ionsHow police associat ionscan promote human rights
Promoting human rights engagement in police associat ions
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September 2004
DearFriend,
Welcome to theNewTactics inHumanRightsTacticalNotebookSeries! Ineachnotebookahuman
rightspractitionerdescribesan innovative tacticused successfully inadvancinghuman rights. The
authorsarepartof the broadanddiversehuman rightsmovement, includingnon-governmentand
governmentperspectives, educators, lawenforcementpersonnel, truth and reconciliationprocesses,
andwomens rightsandmentalhealth advocates. Theyhave both adaptedandpioneered tactics that
havecontributed tohuman rights in theirhome countries. Inaddition, theyhaveutilized tactics
that, whenadapted, can beapplied inothercountriesand situations toaddressavarietyof issues.
Eachnotebookcontainsdetailed informationonhow theauthorandhisorherorganizationachieved
what theydid. Wewant to inspireotherhuman rightspractitioners to think tacticallyand tobroaden the realmof tacticsconsidered toeffectivelyadvancehuman rights.
In thisnotebook, we learnabout theefforts, ability, andcommitmentof lawenforcement
personneloneof themostdifficultgroups to reach regardinghuman rightsto addressand
confronthuman rights issuesandviolations from theirownperspectiveandwithin theirown ranks.
TheLiberianNationalLawEnforcementAssociation (LINLEA)wasestablished by law enforcement
personnel themselves toaddress issuesofpoor leadership, blind loyalty, and lackofprofessional
training, eachofwhichhavecontributed toapoorqualityofservicesandahigh incidenceofhuman
rightsabuses. LINLEAhasworked topromoteprofessionalismasaway toenhancehuman rights
standardsand reduce incidencesofabuse. This tacticsprovides insights intohow the law
enforcementprofession itself canunderstand theconnection betweenprofessionalism andhumanrightsexposingabuseswhen theyoccurto send signals togovernment andcivil society thataction
canandmust be taken toaddressabuses.
The entire seriesofTacticalNotebooks isavailableonlineatwww.newtactics.org. Additional
notebooksarealreadyavailableandotherswillcontinue to beaddedover time. Onourweb siteyou
willalso findother tools, includinga searchabledatabaseof tactics, adiscussion forum forhuman
rightspractitioners, and information aboutourworkshopsand symposia. To subscribe to theNew
Tacticsnewsletter, please send ane-mail to [email protected].
TheNewTactics inHumanRightsProject isan international initiative led byadiversegroupof
organizationsandpractitioners fromaround theworld. Theproject iscoordinated by theCenter for
VictimsofTorture(CVT), andgrewoutofourexperiencesasacreatorofnewtacticsandasa
treatmentcenter thatalsoadvocates for theprotectionofhuman rights fromauniquepositionone
ofhealingandof reclaimingcivic leadership.
Wehope thatyouwill find thesenotebooks informationaland thoughtprovoking.
Sincerely,
KateKelsch
NewTacticsProjectManager
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IntroductionAs dictated by canons of police ethics, which instr uct
of f icers to respect the const i tutional r ights of al l
people to l iberty, equality, and just ice , law enforce-ment off icers ar e supposed to be the leading human
rights protectors and promoters everywhere in the
world. Unfortunately, due to lack of training and disci-pline, poor leadership, and political manipulation, la w
enforcement personnel often engage in unprofes-
sional conduct that leads to abuses of human rights.
In 1993, after the w ar in Liberia , we evaluated the
situation within the police department. An estimated
40 percent of law enforcement personnel had not
received basic training. Discipline levels were very low.
More recently, we have seen how a regime can ap-
point law enforcement off icia ls who can be manipu-
lated to perpetuate, through oppressio n,suppressio n,and intimidation, the regimes tenure.
To address these issues of unprofessionalism and hu-
man rights abuses, we decided to establish a profes-
sional association: Th e Liberian National Law Enforce-
ment Association , or LINLEA .LINLEA promotes train-
ing opportunities for law enf orcement off icers; advo-
cates for a merit-based system of promotion , the ap-
pointment o f qualif ied administrators, and fair and
impartial adjudication of complaints against off icers;and discourages partisanship and political manipula-
tion of law enforcement agencies.
At LINLEA we use a variety of mea ns to achieve our
objectives. We host professional training workshopsfor law en forcement officers, and organize public lec-
ture forums and radio programs to discuss issues re -
lated to the administration of just ice . We publish a
journal to educate readers on the role of the criminal
justice system, its problems and challenges, and issues
of democracy and human rights.In addition, we advo-
cate for reforms of law enforcement and criminal jus-
tice inst i tutions,conduct re search on the causes of
cr ime and the responses of the criminal justice sys-
tem, and publish our findings and recommendations.
As our organization has grown in size and credibility,
we have also been able to call atte ntion to internalproblems and unprofessional behavior in the depart-
ment, and demand justice for victi msincluding un-
fairly accused police off icers. We are beginning to
monitor and catalogue police abuses.
LINLEA now has over 500 memb ers, including nearly20 percent of the police force, as well as many mem-
bers of other law enforcement inst i tutions. Through
our Cente r for Criminal Justice Research and Educa-
tion , we have bee n able to provide leadership and
human rights training f or 223 senior law enforcement
off icers. The Center has also conducted a training
workshop for law enforcement trainers and curricu-
lu m specialists of law enforcement agencies, and a
workshop on Policy Formulation and Development for
law enforcement planners and administrators.
We believe that an association of thissort is the most
ef fective way to bring abou t change in police behav-
io r. Human rights organizationscan raise awarenessof the nat ure and incidents of human rights abuses in
society. But when a professional body related t o law
enforcement becomes involved in highlighting an d
exposing these abuses, i t sends a different signal to
the government and to t he police department itsel f,
a signal they are more likely to hee d .
In this notebook I descr ibe the creation of our police
association , and the development of our work sup-
porting within the police force a professional attitude
that is respectful of human rights.I then discusssome
of the quest ions relevant to the use of this tact ic in
other contexts. Whet her you are a concerned law en-forcement professional or a human rights activist, it is
my hope that this analysis will help you consider how
stepscan be taken to professionalize the police and
improve its human rights record in your own si tua-
tion.
The Liberian context& the birth of LINLEALIBERIA&ITSPOLICE:POLITICALBACKGROUND
The oldest independent African country,Liberia was
founded by freed American slaves, and its govern-
mental system was modeled on that of the U .S.Prior
to 1980,Liberia was one of the most peaceful andstable countries in Africa .Itscriminal just ice system
was functioning fairly well. The police and other law
enforcement agencie s benefite d from quality train-
in g .Standards in these agencie s were high .Promo-
tions were competitive . Discipline wassolid . Th e coun-
try had a modern prison and w ell-functioning courts.
The population, however, was divided bet wee n indig-
enous Liberians and those descended from freed
slaves, who had ruled since 1847. Discontent exploded
onto the scene w ith a bloody mil itary coup in 1980,
which brought into power the PeoplesRedemption
Council (PRC), led by Master Sergeant Samuel K. Doe.
The early years of the coup era saw a series of sum-
mary executions, extrajudicial killings and disappear-
ances, and torture of political oppone nts.Law enforce-
ment agencies absorbed many unqualified personnel
sel ected on tribal and political grounds.Promotionswere politicized, rather than based on merit. The qual-
ity of services deteriorated significantly.Law enforce-
ment off icers became corrupt, and the previous high
level of discipl ine was undermined by poor supervi-
sion and control.
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Promoting Human RightsProfessionalism in the Liberian Police Force 7
In 1982, after a scandalouscorruption incident, Doe
brought in a police administrator to rebuild the
departmentscredibility. Chief Wilfred E. Clark created
a strong professional sense of direct ion that helpedregain the confidence of the public.
Clark made significant progress in terms of manpowerand organizational development during his tenure
(19821990). The first duty manual, for example, was
developed and published in March 1984. Officers were
encouraged to pursue higher education , and those
earning bachelors degrees were given pa y raises and
promotions. Three off icers benefited from scholar-
ships provided by the Atlanta U niversity Criminal Jus-
tice Inst i tute to pursue postgraduate studies in crimi-
nal justice.
Clark discouraged off icers from joining political par-
ties. Executives an d command personnel were allowe d
input into the decision-making process, and could dis-cuss issues of seriousconcern at weekly senior staf f
meet ings. Clark encouraged discussion of any issue
that might undermine the professional integrity of
the department. After an aborted coup attempt in
1985,President Do e had the military and oth er secu-
rity forces vicio usly tracking down his opponents, but
Clark was able to control behavior within the dep art-
ment , even exerciz ing a moderating influence overrelatives of the president wh o were under his leader-
shi p . During the height of the war in 1990, when his
own life was at risk, he took steps to ensure that tribal
or political divisio ns would not tak e root in the de-
partment.
Throughout this period, violations of human rightswere attr ibute d mainly to the mil itary and other se-
curity forces, not the police .Sadly, as the war esca-
lated in 19891990, scor es of police off icers were
killed , including seven high-level police off icia ls, and
Clark was forced to f lee the country. In combination
with corruption and bad governance, the serious hu-
man rights abusescommitted by th e mil itary and a
group of security officers helped lead to a seven-year
civil conflict (19901997), the collapse of the govern-
ment , and the deaths of hundreds of thousands of
Liberiansincluding many law e nforcement profes-sionals.
The rebellion of t he National PatrioticFront of Liberia
(NPFL) in December 1989 led to t he intervention of
the Economic Community of West African Sta tes
(ECOWAS), and brought about the establishment ofan interim administration in 1991. The police and other
law enforcement agencies were reactivated , but many
of the problems experienced during the coups of the
1980s resurfacedincluding the employment, promo-
tion , and assignment of personnel without reference
to department al policy guidelines.Seeing these prob-
le ms,some of us who had served with Chief Clarkbega n looking for a way to improve the si tuation.
WHY FORM A POLICE ASSOCIATION?
Ironically, those wh o killed police off icers during the
civil crisis were often absorbed into the police or other
security age ncie s. Whe n the police department andother law enforcement units were reactivate d in 1991,
considerable damage had been done to bot h their
infrastr ucture and manpow er resources. Many off ic-ers had fled to other countries;some w ere in rebel-
controlled territories, involved in law e nforcement
duties or active combat w ith the rebel force; others
simply refused to report for duty.
To fill vacant posi t ions the police administration be-
gan to promote and assign off icers in haphazard or
politicized ways.Few ne w employees met the educa-
tional standards pr escr ibed by the department .Spe-
cialized tasks were given to people with out the requi-
si te professional competence or experience . Morale
became low, and a lack of discipl ine followe d . A sig-
nificant numb er of trained and experienced off icerswere reluctant to render courtesy t o superiors they
felt lacked leadership ability,supervisory skills, and
technical know-how.It b ecame more and m ore diffi-
cult to get the administration to apply sound mana-
gerial principles in managing the police department.Professionalism deteriorated , and with it , public re -
spect and trust.
After frustrated attempts to promote internal reform
proposals, in my role as the chief of Planning and Re-
search I met with t he Chief of Personn el in late 1993
to discuss how to place pressure on police administra-
tors to adhere to the p olice handbook and administerthe force in a more professional manner. Motivated
by the impact of the International Association of
Chiefs of Pol ice (IACP) in promoting prof essionalism,
we decided to establish a professional association for
law enforcement personnel and support staff.Since it
was difficult to correct the ills of the department from
within , we felt that a professional body operating out-
side the scope of police administrators would be more
ef fective .
Th e Law Enforcement Association was thusconceived
with the following objectives:
to bring together al l law en forcement agencie sand personnel to const i tute a consolidated asso-
ciation or consortium;
to ensure that the ethics and canons of the law
enforcement profession are str ictly observed and
adhered to;
to liaise with ap propriate government authori-ti es to ensure the passage of legislation that will
from time to time improve the pract ice of law
enforcement; improve th e living standard of par-
ticipants of the professio n; and guarantee the
safe ty and well-being of the men and wom en of
the professio n;
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to ensur e community participation and coopera-
tion in meeting the challenges of crime and disor-
de r;
to seek , encourage , and promote law enforce-ment education and training opportunities and
programs for members of the professio n;
to assist a s a consortium in the decision-makingprocess in public and private law e nforcement in-
stitutions; and
to ensure that the r ights of law-abiding ci t izensand those accused of crimes are protected at al l
times;
To establish ties and affiliations with national and
international law en forcement and criminal jus-
tice institutions.
STEPSTO FORMATION
Initial invitation
The idea of this association was well-received among
professionals in other law enf orcement agencies. Wefirst communicated with the Acting Director of Pol ice,
Rudolf B.Flowers, and members of the senior staf f ,
informing them of our intent . The Director had ben-
efited from professional workshops during Clarks ad-
ministration , and was a registered member of the
IACP. Th us, although he may have felt some political
misgivings about our motives, he understood that
from a professional perspective he could not opposethe formation of the organization without dama ging
his own credibility.
Since we were still at war and our association would
have to deal with law enforcement and security per-sonnel, and in order not to be misrepresented , we
wrote to the heads of major law enforcement agen-
cie s, informing them of our intent to establish the
Association and request ing them to send tw o repre-
sentatives to form part of the organizing committee.
The following inst i tutions were contacted: National
Security Agency,Specia l Security Service, Monr ovia City
Pol ice, the Fire Service Bureau , the Bureau of Correc-
tions, and tw o major private security firms (Inter-Con
and REGSA); we also contacted a lawyer and a former
police planning chief then attending the law school.
We felt i t wascrucial to create this level of participa-
tion at the beginning of t he process. Th is was to betheir organization, not something broug ht in by out-
siders. All of the agencies responded and nominated
two of f icers to be part of the organizing committee.By December 29, 1993, the f irst meeting wascon-
vened a t the M onrovia City Hall.
The initial meetin gs were professional forums to dis-
cuss what impact w e could make in addressing unpro-
fessional conduct. Although participants were nomi-
nated by their agencie s, they were free to speak as
individuals; the agencies did not influence the delib-
eration processes. Th e constitution of Liberia provided
for freedom of association ,so there were no legal
barriers, and we moved quickly to solidify the formal
legal existence of the organization . We invited the
Minister of Justice to publicly launch the organization
on M ay 14, 1994 at t he M onrovia City Hall.
The formation of the Law Enforcement Association
was uniqu e and very attractive to many officers. W estr essed that other professionals had organized asso-
ciations (the Bar Associations, the Medical and Dental
Association, the Teache rs Association). Why shouldnt
we have our ow n? We also emphasized the role of
associations in serving as a strong voice in advocating
for reforms. Bet we en 1994 and 1996 we continued
our campaign for members. The more members, the
louder our voice. We hosted workshops,sports tour-
naments, beauty pageants, and other events to bring
law enforcement personnel together. In 1996 we
launched the first public lecture forum, in which mem-
bers of the law enforcement community and the pub-
lic met to discuss the administration of justice in Liberia,and ways to create peace, reconciliation, and stability.
Several law enforcement of f icia ls were invited to
present papers, including the Director of the National
Security Age ncy, the senior Inspector of Police, and
the Legal Aid Officer of the Just ice and Peace Com-
missio n.
Externalsupport
To build prof essionalism, and to promote cross-train-
ing and professional educat ion, Chief Clark had en-
couraged interact ion between Liberian off icers and
those of other countries. He encouraged senior offic-
ers to join the IACP, and built a relationship with theAtlant a University Criminal Justice Inst i tute, resulting
in a jointly sponsored conference in 1988 that broug ht
many notable international professionals to Liberia.
His work laid the foundation for our own understand-
ing and promotion of professional ethics and conduct.
In 1996 we received a small grant from the U .S. Em -
bassy to host a symposium on restr ucturing Liberian
security age ncie s. The workshop was well atten ded ,with the Head of State, the US Ambassador, the Min-
ister of Justice, and heads of law enforcement agen-
cieswith the exception of Pol ice Director Joseph B.
Tatecoming to the opening program . Heads of lawenforcement agencies and other criminal just ice ex-
pertsspoke on the ne ed to restr ucture varioussecu-
rity institutions in Liberia. Coincidentally, a team from
the U.S.State Department was visi t ing Liberia at the
time , and was invited to the opening program . Th e
team was impressed that a group of off icerscouldorganize such a forum to discuss how t o improve law
enforcement services.
Th e symposium was a major achievement for LINLEA ,
and brought the Association and its activities into the
limelight. At the clo se of the opening program the
U.S. ambassador announced that the U.S government
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Promoting Human RightsProfessionalism in the Liberian Police Force 9
had allocated abou t $1.9 million to assist the judiciary
and the police in the reform process as they prepared
for the followin g years el ections.
Th issupport did have itscosts. The money wascondi-
tional on t he removal of Chief Tate. who had been
accused by the U.S. governme nt of being involved inatrocities during the war. Desperate to receive the
funds and to gain U .S.support , other members of the
Liberia Nat iona l Transitional Government (LNTG) pres-
sured Charles Taylor, one of the faction heads, to have
his nominee replaced, which he did . Tate accused the
Association of masterminding his removal by organiz-
ing the workshop , and within a year he took his re -
venge.
A police associationworking for human rightsWith a population of 2.7 million,Liberia has only 3,500
4,000 police off icers, a very low per capita presence.Of these, 500 belon g to LINLEA . The organization has
a tw o-tiered membership structure:Regular members
must be trained police, while associate members may
join without training . We believe that the organiza-
tion should not by run be an off icer in the depart-
ment ;such off icers are under the disciplinary control
of the Chief of Police, and thus inhibited in their reac-
tions to sensitive issues.LINLEAsconstitution also pro-hibits off icers from being members of polit ical par-
tie s. Memberscan vote, but cannot atte nd polit ical
meet ings or be partisan .Party control of police de-
stroys independence and continuity.
Initially,LINLEA did not have a direct human rightsadvocacy focus.It w as implied that if law enf orcement
off icers were professional in the discharge of their
duties, and good leadership kept in check those who
deviated from professional standards, human rights
violations would be at a minimum .
We did, however,conduct an analysis of factors re -
sponsible for these violations. We found that issues
contributing to human rights abuses by off icers in -
cluded lack of training and discipline, poor leadership,
and deliberate manipulation of law enforcement
agencies by the regime in power, resulting in the sup-pression of freedom and the intimidation of the pop u-
lace. We also concluded that the laws establishing law
enforcement agencie s, the policie s and procedural
mechanisms for managing these agencie s, the lead-
ership styles and abilities of executives, the of f icers
conduct and attitudes, and the ci t izens att itudes to-ward criminal just ice inst i tutionscontributed to the
poor performance and poor huma n rights recor ds of
the agencies. We decided, therefore , to prioritize hu-
man rights as a core policy issue.
To do so,LINLEA carries out the following activities:
training of officers in human rights, ethics, lead-ership, and basic police skills
research and publications
public ed ucation
advocacy regarding policies and legislation
advocacy regarding the appoint ment of qualifiedadministrators.
advocacy for adjudication of complaints (fair and
imparti al) and act ions against of f icers who vio-late
We have organized these into three major programs:
Law Enforcement Training an d Education
Human RightsPromotion and Advocacy
Welfare and Labor Relations
GENERALPROFESSIONALTRAINING:
IMPLICATION FORHUMAN RIGHTS
Although LINLEA addresses human rights as a delib-
erate part of its mandate , this fal ls within a broader
mission and program of promotin g overall profession-
alism , which we believe has many benefits for thepolice beyond its impact on human rights. We believe
that improvements in human rights performance are
a logical consequence of improved professionalism ,
and we articulate this link in our trainings.
The association seeks to improve the leadership styles
of administrators of law enforcement agencies, en-
courage a participatory decision-making process, anddevelop policies and procedural guidelines for man-
aging agency resources. We also seek to improve the
attitude and conduct of individual officers, which re-
sul ts in improved services, a bett er image for the pro-
fession and its members, a reduction in human rightsabuses and other acts of unprofessionalism, and , as a
re sult , incre ased support and cooperation from the
public.
In LINLEAs Human Rights an d Leadership training, we
cover the following topics:
principles of management and law enforcement
administration
constitutional provisio ns as they relate to the ad-
ministration of justice and the rule of law
human rights as it relates to law enforcement
leadership and supervisio n
human relations
Our training and outreach also has a multiplier effect.
Following the publication of o ur research report on
the Liberian criminal just ice system ,some agencie s
began their own training and set up committees to
develop policy manuals to guide their organizations.We are now conducting a training of trainers: a one-
week training for curriculum development to promote
professionalism . The participants will research the
training needs of their own inst i tutions, and we are
working with a teacherscollege to provide instr uc-
tion on basic techniques of curriculum development
and evaluation. We w ill also conduct a training on ba-sic policy development and procedural manuals.
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RESEARCHONCRIMINALJUSTICE
In March 2002 we established th e Center for Criminal
Just ice Research and Education to conduct r esearch
on problems of criminal just ice. Through thiscenter,we have carried out research on the str ucture, func-
tions, and problems of the criminal justice system and
a survey of public perception of the operations andeffectiveness of criminal justice institutions in Liberia.
A report on these studies was published in December
2002 , and circulated to heads of law enforcement
and criminal just ice inst i tutions. The Minister of Jus-
tice mandat ed a deputy to review th e report and ad-
vise him on possible act ions; a meeting between the
Justice Minister and LINLEA is pending. After publica-
tion of the report some agencie s recommend ed in-
service training for their personnel, and one created a
new committee to d evelop policy guidelin es for the
department.
PUBLICEDUCATION
Since the attainment of our goals is intricately con-
nected to th e relationship between t he police and the
public, we also have formed programs to educate citi-
zens, through workshops, l i terature, and lectures,about t heir r ights and responsibilities as related to
the law, abou t the role of criminal justice inst i tutions
in society, and about act ions that can bring pressur eon the government t o init iate reforms and improve
human rights recor ds. We are also working with hu-
man rights groups and other civil society organiza-
tions to address human rights issues and the culture
of impunity. We host a mon thly radio program calledthe Criminal Justice Forum, organize a q uarterly pub-
lic lecture forum (the W ilfred E. Clark Lecture Forum
on Socia l Justice and the Rule of Law), and publish the
quarterly CriminalJustice ReviewJournal.
ADVOCATINGPOLICIESAND LEGISLATION
We have assisted several law e nforcement agencie s
in the creation of coherent internal procedures and
standards. Having noticed that the laws establishing
these agencies did not specify qualifications or crite-
ria for the appointme nt of agency heads, allowing
arbitrary choices by the president, we have also re-
v iewed the laws and proposed amendments to im-prove the sel ection process, advance the pract ice o f
law enforcement , and enhance the living standards
and guarante e the r ights,safety, and w ell-being of
members of the professio n.In addition, observing tha t
some agencies had duplicate funct ions, we recom-
mended that the National Legislature review th e acts
creating law enforcement agencie s and rectify any
discrepancies.
INFLUENCING LEADERSHIPSELECTION
Our hope is that o ur organization will become strong
enough to influence the select ion and appointment
of law enforcement executives, either through con-
sulting with the Pre sident, working with the legisla -
ture during confirmation hearings of those nominated
by the President , or lobbying legislators to pass a billrequiring the President to nominate competent and
qualif ied administrators to key posi t ions in law en-
fo rcement institutions. Once sound administrators are
appointed,LINLEA can then w ork with them to pro-
vide technical assistance for th eir respective agencies.
In a law enf orcement agency, a good administrator is
one who administers the affairs of the department
through written policy and procedural guidelines, who
encourages suggest ions and ideas from men and
women of the department , who consul ts with other
executives on key issues before making decisio ns, who
allows due process to prevail in the adj udication ofcomplaints against officers, and who understands that
the primary objective of the law en forcement profes-
sion is the uph olding of the rule of law an d respect for
the Const i tution . We believe that if we can achieve
our goal of having such administrators appointed to
the agencies, we wil l have gone a long way towards
addressing the problem of human rights abuses by
police. Unfortunately,Presiden t Taylors practice of ap-pointing persons loyal to him regardless of th eir quali-
fications, and his refusal to entertain discussio ns re -
garding the replacement of unqu alif ied administra-
tors, will delay the achievement o f some of these ob-
jectives.
DEALING WITHCOMPLAINTS AGAINSTSECU-
RITY FORCESORINDIVIDUALOFFICERS
As a professional association of law enforcement per-
sonnel w e have a dual role in dealing wit h complaints
against these personnel: on the one hand, we have an
obligation to defend th e r ights of our professionsmembers, who m ay be unfairly accused of misbehav-
ior and who , even in the event of misbehavior, have a
right to due process. At the same time, we must main-
tain the highest p ossible ethical standards within the
professio n , and we cannot al low law enforcement
pr actitioners to commit crimes with impunity.
In Liberia, however, there are presently no official dis-
ciplinary or invest igative procedures in place for of-
ficer violations.People are afraid even to file com-
plaints, and complaints are not handled profession-
ally. We are trying to persuade the Ministry of Justiceto issue a standard of conduct, and will then challenge
them to invest igate charges against off icers. As part
of this pr ocess,LINLEA has a line-up of t en programs,
including one on internal discipline which addresses
the process for receiving complaints from the public,
invest igating and processing them , and monitoring
their outcomes and resolutions.
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Promoting Human RightsProfessionalism in the Liberian Police Force 11
Due to lack of funding , we have not yet been able to
effectively and thorou ghly monitor and catalogu e po-
lice abuses. We are, however, developing a Law En-
forcement Professional Standards and Human RightsOff ice, to be f ully responsible for monitoring com-
plaints of abuses and overseeing the handling of these
complaints. We do have an ethicscommittee that in-vestigatescomplaints against our own members, who
accept the possibility of investigation w hen they join
LINLEA .
Despite the lack of effective official mechanisms, we
have been able to use our influence and activities to
intervene and stop abuses. Human rights organiza-
tions had long found it diff icul t , for example, to per-
suade the courts to compel law enforcement execu-
tives to honor the writ of habeascorpus.Several per-
sons arrested by law enforcement agencie s, particu-
larly for alleged off ensescommitted against the state,
were held without being taken to the court withinthe 48 hours prescribed by the Constitution. Concerned
about this flagrant violation ,LINLEA hosted a forum
to discuss the significance of the writ of habeascorpus
in upholding the rule of law and protecting the rights
of accused persons. We invited representatives of the
Bar Association , the Justice Ministry, and the Catholic
Church Justice and Peace Commission to serve as pan-
elists.Since the forum, law enforcement agencies havebegun adhering to the constitutional provision regard-
ing the writ and are now complying with related court
orders. A few days after the forum , in fact , a human
rights lawyer was arrested and surprisingly, within the
48-hour perio d, wascharged and brought to court.
In 2000, a member of our Association was arrested
and de tained for 100 days for allegedly communicat-
ing wit h a military official in neighboring Guinea . We
felt that if the officer was indeed involved, he should
be forwarded to court rather than inde finitely de-
tained witho ut trial. After w e wrote a letter inquiring
into hiscase, he was accused of espionage . We went
to the judge to ask that the man be charged and tried ,but the police still ref used to charge him. We returned
to the judge , and finally threatene d to go to the Su-
preme Court . The following Saturday, the man was
released. We w anted to further protest this mistreat-ment , but the man concerned felt i t would be too
risky for him , and he ultimately fled the country.
In 2002, Director of Pol ice Paul E. Mulbah personally
arrested the head of the CatholicJustice and Peace
Commissio n. He also had two officers publicly flogge dwithout due cause, as vengeance for their having ques-
tioned his decisio ns in a meeting, and was respo nsible
for the f logging and torture of hum an rights advo-
cate Tiawon Gongloe while in police custody. These
actions prompted us to criticize him during a live radio
talk show. Th e chief did not take w ell to thiscriticism,
and vowed to discontinue hissupp ort for our programsand activities.For several months,contact was bro-
ken between t he pol ice
and LINLEA . W e chose to
ignore him, avoid officially
inviting the police depart-ment to our funct ions,
and deal only with our
members who were inthe service.Since othe r in-
stitutions were attending
and bene fit ing from our
train ing programs, the
police began to fe el iso-
lated. Eventually Mulbah
allowed eight off icers to
participate in a training
wo r kshop he ld a t our
ce n t e r, an d p e r m i t t ed
training officers from the
Police Academy to partici-
pate in a training of train-ers workshop . We hope
to take advantage of this
change of he art and in-
tensify our training w ork-
shops for police officers.
This aspect of our work
clearly carries inherentrisks.Public condemna-
t i o n o f h u m a n r i g h ts
abuses by law enforce-
ment executives may trig-
ger a backl ash ,creatingsi tuations in which sup-
port for our programs iswithheld and executives
prohibit officers from officially participating in the ac-
tivities and programs of LINLEA .
STANDINGUPFORTHEHUMAN RIGHTS
OFLAW ENFORCEMENTWORKERS
As just described, police officers themselves are some-
times vict ims of abuse by off icia ls.In these cases we
assist in grievance procedures.If officers are detained
or wrongfully charged, we advocate f or their release
or for justice .LINLEA is trying to develop a la w en-forcement off icer s Bill of Rights for Liberian Officers
to be enacted into law. With the passage of this bill,
and our inclusion of this topic as part of our training ,officers will be aware of t heir rights and able to claim
them.
Repression against LINLEALINLEA had a particularly difficult time aft er the 1997
elect ions, due to our outspoken stance in support of
the restr ucturing of the security forces, and our criti-
cisms of Chief Tate . As described earlier, Tate w as ac-
cused of war crimes by the U.S., and removed from
off ice as a condition of U .S.security assistance . Be-cause of the timing of a LINLEA conference on police
Participantsatapolicy formationanddevelop-
mentworkshopheldatCCJRE, April 912,
2003.
Panelistsat theWilfredE. Clark lecture forum,
discussing theroleof the lawenforcement
community inpromotingpeace, reconciliation,
and security forall;August 15, 2002.
LINLEAPresidentCecilB. Griffiths inoffice.
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12
professionalism, and the enthusiastic U.S.support for
LINLEA , Tate blame d us for the loss of his position .
Wit h the 1997 election of Charles Taylor and th e NPP,Tate w as again name d Chief of Pol ice.In addition to
harboring historic resentment for LINLEA , the NPP was
also concerned about our support for implemen tingthe restr ucturing called for in the A buja accor d . Tate,
considered the second most pow erful man in Liberia ,
launched an aggressiv e campaign of intimidation
against LINLEA .
His fi rst step was to fire me from my position as Chief
o f Planning and Research , ju st as we w ere holding a
national workshop on restructuring the security forces.
The worksho p, however, went ahead as planned , and
participants overwhelmingly called for law e nforce-
ment agencies to be restr uctured in keeping with the
Abuja accords.LINLEA protested my dismissal and held
pr essconferences exposing the unprofessional man-ner in which the police department was being run .
Th is prompt ed Tate to order my arrest and detention.
I was arrested in Decemb er 1997, but managed to
escape . Tate also had our meetings monitored , and
our members watched , threatened , and arrested. He
spread propaganda questioning our associations mo-
tives and creating the impression that we were agents
of the U .S. government ,since the U .S. and Liberiangovernments were at loggerheads.LINLEA declared
a state of siege, and advised members who felt threat-
ened to keep aw ay until conditions improved . A few
off icers did brave the storm and continued to be ac-
tive.
In 1999 Director Tate w as killed in a crash, after which
many police off icers re act ivated their membership ,
and our relationship with the department began to
improve . Nevertheless, the department still suffers
greatly from the transition . Because of the prevailing
situation in the country, particularly the issue of impu-
nity, many LINLEA members are not willing to file com-
plaints against their bosses for fear of reprisal .
Tates replacement aschief of police,Paul E. Mulbah ,
did not warm to us qu ickly. When we publicly criticized
the arrest and detention of a human rights activistand the f logging of tw o police of f icers upon his or-
ders, he vowed not to cooperate with us, and notified
heads of other law enforcement agencies of his deci-
sio n . Th is relationship hassince improved somewhat,
in part due to the seriousness and credibility of our
work and publications.
Although opposition to LINLEA still exists, it is limited
to executives with very close connections to the presi-
dent . One agency head continues to intimidate and
threaten members with dismissal for associating with
LINLEA . Quite recently, three of our members resigned
from this agency to work full time with us; the agencyhead is now refusing to cooperate with LINLEA .
Discussion I:Causes of police abuseCo nsider the m ajority of violations of civil and p olitical
rights: extrajudicial killings,summa ry executions, dis-
appearances, torture, impunity, unlawful detention,violation of the r ight to protest or express onesel f,
discrimination against minorities, police brutality, traf-
ficking in human beings. The list goes on , but clearlymost of these abuses are direct ly related to la w en-
forcementeither to abuses by security officia ls, or
to the lack of protection and enforcement of the law.Law enforcement iscrucially linked to d emocracy, good
governance, and the rule of law.I believe that most of
the wars in Africa are related to the lack of the rule of
la w, and to a lack of justice.People have nowhere to
seek redress.If human rights abuses and omissio ns by
law enforcement and the criminal justice system were
addressed , and the system worked , most abuses and
violent conflicts would be reduced or minimized.
Why do law enforcement of f icers violate the law orcommit abuses? We believe three factors are respon-
sible:
First , a lack of training or inade quat e training. Off ic-
ers do not know w hat to do in certain instances, and
are often ignorant of the law.In Liberia, more tha n 60
percent of current officers ar e completely untrained.
A second key cause is the lack of discipline .Law en-
forcement off icers must be guided in th eir actions by
principles and standards of conduct.Professional or-
ganizationssuch asLINLEA ende avor to remind offic-
ers of th eir respo nsibility to adhere t o these standards,and of the ef fects of unprofessional conduct on the
image of law enforcement agencies. Officers who dis-
regard rules of conduct m ust b e sanct ioned in order
to deter others. Violations that are internally moti-
vated (such as lack of training , lack of discipline , or
poor leadership) can be handled by convincing politi-
cal leaders that the problems of the police are under-
mining the image of the country and hence require
corrective measur es.
The third factor is the polit ical manipulation of law
enforcement inst i tutions for political gain .Political
leaders appoint those loyal to them , those they cantrust to do their bidding . Th is leads to violations that
are externally motivated . To address this we must
persuade the law enforcement community to reflect
on its role in society through interaction with law en-
forcement professionals from other countries.Pol ice
need to be encouraged to see th eir role asserving the
citizenry, not the regime in power. By building a sense
of pride in the profession , agencies can build up
greater internal resistance to the kind of polit ical
manipulation that can turn a good police force into a
tool for repressio n.
We believe that most human rights violations by po-lice in Liberia , especially those occurring be tw een 1991
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Promoting Human RightsProfessionalism in the Liberian Police Force 13
and 1997,could be attr ibuted to unprofessional er-
ro rscaused by a lack of training and discipline. After
the 1997 elections brought the NPP into power, how-
ever, many rebel commanders and fighters were ab-
sorbed into law enf orcement agencies, an d command-
ers were appointed heads of security units at vital
public installations and facilities,such as the Freeportof Monrovia, the TelecommunicationsCorporation , th e
Electr icity Corporatio n, the International Airport, and
the law enforcement agencies. At this point, the level
of human rights violations began to take on ne w di-
me nsio ns.
In 1997, for instance, a few months after the new
government took off ice, prominent polit icia n Sam
Dokie , his wife, and a close relative were killed , alleg-
edly by mem bers of the Specia l Security Service , the
agency responsible for protect ing the Pre sident and
other VIPs. To dat e , those accused are yet to face jus-
tice. The conduct of th e A nti-Terrorist Unit (ATU), amilitary force created by the president, has also in-
cre ased the level of human rights violations. Th is unit
has been accused of torture , and of inhumane treat-
ment of civilians detained at their bases.
One of the greatest concerns of LINLEA and of the
human rights organizations in Liberia is the issue of
impunity. Many acts of lawlessness, unprofessionalism,and human rights violations go unpunished, and the
act ions of the ATU and Special Operation Divisio n
(SOD), the para-military wing of the police,continue
to go unchecked .
Th e SOD , which should be analagous to the "SWAT"
(Special Weapons And Tactics) tea ms of U..S police de-
partments, was reorganized and staffed with ex-com-
batants. A para-military Border Patrol Unit was also
established within the Bureau of Immigration and
Naturalization and staffed with ex-fighters. Because
of the loyalty of the men and commanders of these
units, they are fully involved in the w ar. Acts of unpro-
fessional conduct or repressive behavior are not ad-
equately addressed by heads of agencies because o f
their relationship with the president.
Th is not an easy si tuation to tackle .In our radio pro-grams, public lecture forums, and literature, we con-
tinue to discuss the need to improve enforcement
agencies throug h training and education, and to en-
courage civil society to pressure the government to
reform.
Discussion II: NecessaryresourcesHUMANRESOURCES
Our most critical resource is police off icers who be-
lieve in professionalism. Every police department has
them, but they are not always visible when a depart-
ment is affected by political or armed confl ict , or bycorruption .They are, however, the people needed to
FemalechapterofLINLEAcelebrating first
anniversary, December 12, 2001.
ProfessorAnthonyD. Kromah, Associate
DirectorofCCJRE, lecturingon the
significanceof trainingduring the trainingof
trainersworkshop.
Participantsat leadershipandhuman rights
workshop, December 12, 2002, MonroviaCity
Hall.
build an effective and le-
gitimate association . The
founders of our association
w e r e l a w e n f o rce m e n tpersonnel who had seen ,
under Chief Clark , how a
professional departmentshould be run. We had con-
tacts within public and pri-
va t e l aw en fo rce m e n t
agencies, and we had the
support of a lawyer as
well, who was invited to
join the organizing com-
mi t tee to ob ta in f i rst-
hand knowledge of our
aims and objectives. W e
were also able to gain
support from the Minis-
ter of Justice and otherhigh-level law enforce-
ment of f icia ls. Th issup-
port has not always been
consisten t , for polit ical
re asons, and at t imes we
experienced harassment
from officials, bu t currently
some of t hat initial level of
support is being restored .
FINANCIALRESOURCES
We requested from our
members annual dues ofone hundred Liberian dol-
la rs. Because of the eco-
nomic constraints facing
workers, we also hosted
fundra isers to augment
these dues. We received some funding from the U .S.
government (support for the law enforcement re-
str ucturing workshops in 1996 and 1997, and support
for the publication of the criminal justice review jour-
nal), and during the period of intense intimidation ,off ice space and f inancia l support w ere provided by
the Association of Liberian Professional Organizations
(ALPO) , a civil society organization . We now receivefunding from the National Endowmen t for Democ-
racy (NED), based in Washington, D.C., for our Center
for Criminal Justice Research and Education program,and the Norwegian Human RightsFun ds provide f und-
ing for our Professional Standards and Human Rights
Office.
Discussion III:The police & the mili-taryTh e Liberian police and military had historically re-
mained separate , but after the 1980 coup and the
ongoing conflict they beg un to overlap in their secu-
rity functions, and to carry out some joint operations.Most devastatingly,since 1997 the p olice have had to
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14
absorb a large number of untraine d former combat-
ants.Former rebel soldiers were absorbed into all se-
curity forces, including the police and the armed forces.
But the existing army wascomprised of soldiers whohad fought against the rebels.In the transition very
few rebel commanders obtained command positions
in the army. Instead, Taylor created a new militaryforce, the An ti-Terrorist Unit (ATU),comprised prima-
rily of form er rebels. Taylor has favored the ATUhis
personal armywith resources, weapons, and respon-
sibility for controlling dissidents. Meanwhile, the police
department absorbed 400500 form er reb el combat-
ants, with the SOD taking on an incre asingly repres-
sive role. Th ese ex-combatants ar e still war-trauma-
tized, and received no professional training.
The fact that t he militarys and former rebels abuses
have benefited from impunity clearly does not create
a publicsense of respect or faith in the state scom-
mitment to th e rule of law. With the existing ambigu-ity of formal separation yet pract ical mixing of
military and civilian security forces, i t is diff icult for
military officers to be invest igated or held account-
able for their actions.Policies regarding the investiga-
tion of military personnel for unlawful actions are not
consistent . Although most of fensescommitted by
military officers are han dled by the military police and
sometimes referred to a tr ibunal, there are few in-
sta nces in which military officers have been prosecuted
in civilian courts.
Through our radio programs and publications,LINLEA
has been vocal against acts of lawlessness by mem-bers of the ATU and other security forces.In 2001, for
example, an off icer of the Defense Intell igence Ser-
vice was detained more than eighteen months by
Defense Ministry aut horities for unsubstantiated al-
legations.LINLEA sought clarification from Defense
Ministry officia ls an d, when no respo nse w as received,
collaborated with the Justice and Peace Commissio n
to have the off icer released . A case involving a com-
manding of f icer of the AFL, a former NPFL com-
mander al leged to have stabbe d and kil led another
military officer, is currently being invest igated by
LINLEA upon request from victims relative . Th e JPC
has also highlighted the case.
LINLEAs has hopes to advocate for the creation of a
Truth an d Reconciliation Commission to review all such
cases that are not addressed by the government, and
hassubmitted funding proposals to support prepara-
tory work in tha t direct ion . Unfortunately, the cur-rent fighting in Liberia at the time of this writing has
made it impossible to pursue this objective.
Discussion IV:Police &human rights organizationsIn the beginning , perhaps not surprisingly,LINLEA did
not have a close relationship with civil society humanrights groups.Since the idea of law enforcement of-
ficers organizing to promote professionalism among
themselves wasstrange ,some groups were simply
skept ical about our intent .Some felt that our inten-
tion in joining the consortium of human rights organi-zations was to infiltrate and expose decisions and plans
to the government .It was thus diff icult at first for
LINLEA to secure international support or funding forour programs.
However, there has been a remarkable improvement
in the relationships over time, especially aft er LINLEA
itsel f suffere d police repressio n. We now collaborate
with the CatholicJust ice and Peace Commission and
others who invite us to lecture on criminal justice, pris-
oners righ ts, the correct ional system, police commu-
nity relatio ns,and other topics.International funders,
such as the National Endowment for Democracy, have
helped us build links with other groups. And our
monthly radio program on human rights issues has
also strengthened our credibility.
It is natural that some dista nce exist between the NGO
human rights movement and a police association, even
one with a human rights agenda . Th is distance might
even have positive consequences: our primary target
constituency and audience are police themselves, and
the institution al hierarchy. Given the historic distr ust
and often adversarial relationship between humanrights groups and security forces, a police association
might have diff iculty maintaining itscredibility and
access inside the law enforcement universe if it is per-
ceived to be too closely linked to hu man rights groups.
Transferability I:How police associa-tionscan promote human rightsSTARTING A POLICEASSOCIATION
Our tact iccan be successfully implemented only byprofessional law enforcement of f icers (whether in
active service or not). Th ese off icers know the culture
of their agencies and can make a tremendous impact
i f they init iate ef forts to improve the quality of ser-
vice. To encourage fel low off icers to see the value in
such an association, the following motivationsshould
be encouraged:
Most people have a longing to be a part of an
organization or fraternity. Other professio ns havesuch associations,so why not ours?Police in other
countries have such associations,so why not us?
Most law enforcement practitioners want to feel
pride in their work . They want to be regarded as
professionals. They are not proud of abusescom-
mitted by th eir institutio n or individuals within it,and they want the respect of the public.
Law enforcement practitionerscan benefit from
the training and education that an association can
offer. Training opportu nitiescan also mean pro-
motion opportunities.
Law enforcement off icia ls are mostly normal citi-
zens with the same desire for peace,stability, andrespect for human rights as others in society.
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Promoting Human RightsProfessionalism in the Liberian Police Force 15
In a si tuation where some security forces or indi-
viduals are engaged in unprofessional behavior
or politically motivated hu man rights abuses, the
repu tatio n of all pract i t ioners is damaged. Theyneed an association to assert their commitment
to professionalism and separate themselves from
the crimescommitted by others. Law enforcement practitioners work un der a hi-
erarchy of obedience to discipline, but they also
have a right to bene fit from an independent space
to discuss issues and voice concer ns among col-
leagues.
Law enforcement of f icerscan be vict imized by
their inst i tutionsunfairly accused , detained,
punished, denied promotions, and discriminated
against. They need an indep ende nt body that will
stand up and advocate for their needs.
If a law enforcement agency is going through a
difficult time, in which discipline and profession-
alism have broken dow n or political manipulationis in tense ,calling atte ntion to role models and
time periods in which a higher level of profession-
al ism w as achieved can encourage colleagues to
maintain hope that the situation can be improved.
If you have a group of off icers interested in forming
such an organization,consider the following questions:
Do other professional organizations,such as theBar Associatio n or Teachers Association , ex ist i n
your country? What can you learn from them
about the process of establishing such an organi-
zation?
Are there any laws prohibiting law enforcementoff icers from becoming members of professional
organizations?If so , you may first need to cam-
paign to change such laws. You may be aided by
international support , given that independent
police associations are common in many countries,
and can play a very positive role in assist ing law
enforcement.
What is the governments att i tude towards hu-
man rights activism and independent civil society?
Has the government shown wil l ingness to im-
prove the human rightssi tuation or is i t hostile
towards human rights advocates?
What is the nature of huma n rights violations inyour country? What has been the involvement of
your law en forcement inst i tution in these viola-
tions? Has this involvement, or lack of it, been
internally or externally motivated?
Depending on the polit ical si tuation , where can
you find allies?If, for instance, a breakdow n indiscipline or professionalism hascaused scandals
or si tuations which create a bad image for the
country, you may find that high government of fi-
cia ls, parl iament members, and others are very
supportive of any campaign to address the prob-
le m. On the other hand , if the police departmen t
issuffering from excessive political control by arepressive regime , you may need to choose a
lower profile , looking f or allies among your col-
leagues, within civil society, and in the interna-
tional community.
There are a number of steps that can be init iated to
prepare law en forcement of f icers to establish a net-
work to promote hum an rights among themselves: Contact international organizations of law en-
forcement professionals. Th e IACP, for instance ,
tackles unprofessionalism by developin g training
programs in collaboration with law enforcement
training inst i tutions and universities.It also ad-
dr esses the issue of leadership through annual
international and regional conferences. Th e IACP
has been successful in its programs because it has
suff icient funding , and because the caliber and
status of members give the organizatio n promi-
ne nce.
Host regional conferences for heads of law en-
forcement agencies to discuss administrative andhuman rights issues. During such conferences, the
role of unions and professional associationscan
be discussed . Delegatescan be encouraged to
become members of the IACP or other interna-
tional law enf orcement association .Such aware-
ness will be necessary to generate support when-
ever a local law enforcement association is to be
established.
Set up regional professional law en forcement as-
sociationssuch as the West African A ssociation
of Chiefs of Police or the W est African Union of
Law Enforcement Associations. With the support
of the IACP and international human rights orga-nizations, these regional bodes may be able to
develop awareness of the professional role of the
police and other law enf orcement agencies in a
democracy.
Establish criminal justice research centers to con-
duct studies on the causes of cr ime and on the
criminal justice system, opinion surveys on public
perceptions of the police system, and other stud-
ie s to provide data tha t could help law enforce-
ment agencies reflect on their performances, while
recommending act ions to to address the si tua-
tion.Such resea rch helps demonstrate the impor-
tant role that an association may play. Th e cen-terscould conduct worksho ps for law enforcement
off icers on human rights, ethics, democracy, and
other topics. Th ese initiativesshould not be an-
tagonistic in nature, and criticismsshould be con-
str uctive and limited.
ENSURING AHUMAN RIGHTS AGENDA
Once you have established an association , or if you
already have one , ho w can you ensure that it carries
out a strong agenda in support of huma n rights?
Despite the frequent use of police for repressio n, and
the adversarial relationship that often exists betweenlaw enforcement and huma n rights groups, it is fun-
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16
dame ntal to recognize that the essential mandate of
all policing is to protect ci t izens and th eir rights. Any
program pursuing professional integrity withou t pro-
moting human rights is internally inconsistent. Humanrights education is theref ore essential for law en force-
ment pract i t ioners, and an association can play an
important role in offering such education, and advo-cating to ensure that human rights ed ucation becom es
part of official police training and education .
If fel low off icers ar e committing abuses, there may
be a hesi tance to criticize one of our own . In this
case, an association needs to be encouraged to recog-
nize the cost to the reputation and public image of all
police if offenders are allowe d to commit abuses with
impunity. An association can advocate for effective
invest igative and disciplinary procedures inside the
department, while also maintainin g the role of exter-
nal watchdog.It is also essential that the organization
has it s own mechanisms for invest igating infr inge-ments of professional ethics by its members. Without
this, the professional reputation of the organization
itself will be quest ioned.
In si tuations where police are subjected to polit ical
manipulation, the police association itself may be vul-
nerable to intimidation, infiltration, or cooptation. Cog-
nizant of this fact,LINLEA , for example , has put inplace mechanisms to prevent political manipulation.To
prevent conflict of interest, law enforcement off icers
appointed by the president to executive posi t ions in
law enforcement agencies are prohibited from hold-
ing office in the Association.Likewise,LINLEA off icersappointe d by the president to serve in law e nforce-
ment agencies must resign their positions within the
Association if they accept the presidential appoint-
ment.
Affiliations with international law enforcement groups
can help to give associations an internation al profile
and signal international support . Members, particu-
larly the executive committee, must be alert an d vigi-
lant in detect ing any attempts by the government to
infiltrate the organization or co-opt members.
Transferability II:Promoting human rightsengagement in police associationsAny attempt by human rights activists to promote
posi t ive engage ment with the police must be done
with an att i tude, a style of communication , and an
approach that take into account the political and dip-lomatic realities of the two groups. Human rights ac-
tivists need to respect that the law enforcemen t pro-
fession has it s o wn culture, professional standards,
and modes of expressio n, which may be different th an
those of many human rights NGOs. The law enforce-
ment community, even under the best of circum-
stances, is vulnerable to attackboth physical attack
from some of th e violent si tuations i t is obligated to
confront, and polit ical attack from allies of any tar-
gets of law enforcement activities. Th is vulnerabilitynaturally creates a resistance to criticism from the
outsid e, and a highly developed sense o f collegial re-
spect within the professio n, a respect based on sharedrisks and stre sses.
In a si tuation where law enforcement has been ac-
cused of misbehavior, or human rights groups have
been vociferously critical of law enforcement, this dy-
namic will further complicate communication and col-
laboration .
In any case, human rights groups need to approach
and seek ou t allies within the law enforcement com-
munity,conveying sensitivity to the difficul t situation
the police face, and support for the professional aspi-
rations they have. As in any professio n , law enforce-ment practitioners are more likely to respond to new
ideas i f those ideas arise from one of their own . Hu-
man rights workersshould thus not try to convince
the police in general to change th eir approach to hu-
man rights, but rather seek ou t influential al l ies in -
side the inst i tut ion who can convince others. These
allies need to be professionalscapable of influencin g
others, and independent thinkers willing to q uestionthe status quo.
How does one find these allies with aspirations to im-
prove the professional and moral integrity of their
institution? There are several avenues.In many placescivil society groups already have clo se contact wi th
the police and may be interested in your work .For
in stance , NGOs that w ork with vict ims or offen ders
have frequent contact with police, and will already
have developed trusting relationshi ps with some of-
ficers. University professors that do educational work
with the police will also have built up relationship s
with the institution, and may have good advice about
influen tial individuals in the department who might
promote such thinking.
Human rights organizationscan also e ncourage col-
laborative relationshi ps with law enforcement pro-fessionals in their other activitiesby inviting th em ,
for instance, to human rightsconferences and forums,
and by organizing seminars on topics of interest to
the police.Such forums may serve as a catalyst in per-
suading professionals to organize themselves and in-
f luence their colleagues.Individuals with legal andresearch backgrounds may establish institutes to con-
duct research on the prevailing laws,crime, and crimi-
nal just ice polices and practices, and l iaise with law
enforcement auth orit ies to discuss f indings and rec-
ommendations.Such institutions may also have a train-
ing compone nt to provide techn ical or advanced train-
ing for law en forcement practitioners.
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Promoting Human RightsProfessionalism in the Liberian Police Force 17
Human rights organizationscan also encourage their
international counterparts to organize forums involv-
ing law enforcement.If local police chiefs are invited
to an international forum co-sponsored by interna-tional human rights groups as well as international
law enforcement associations, the l ink between the
two communities gains further credibility, and the lo-cal law e nforcement professional is given a special
opportunity to learn and share with other profession-
als in both fields.
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NOTES
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NOTES
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