WHAT IS RIGHTS-BASED

POLICING?
RIGHTS-BASED POLICING
-Compliance with international
human rights standards in
policing.
Citizens are CLAIM-
HOLDERS whose rights must
be respected and protected
by the police
Police Officers are DUTY-
HOLDERS with obligations to
respect, protect and fulfill
human rights.
To RESPECT human rights-
avoid interfering with the
enjoyment of people’s rights.
To FULFILL human rights-
implement systems,
mechanisms, and procedures
that enable people to claim
and enjoy their rights

Gross Human Rights

Violations(HRVs):
1. Enforced
Disappearances(ED)- The
disappeared are people who
have been taken into custody
by agents of the State, whose
whereabouts are concealed
and whose custody is denied
2. Extra-judicial killings (EJK)-
are unlawful and deliberate
killings, carried out by order of
a government or with its
complicity (accomplice) or
acquiescence (acceptance)
3. Torture- extreme/severe
pain through physical or
psychological means to elicit
information, etc….

Police/Military may commit

HRV:
- Unlawful, unnecessary or
disproportionate use of
force. (authority &
obligation)
- Arbitrary Arrest or Detention
( contain elements of
injustice , irregular,
 unreasonable &
disproportionate)
- Torture or other cruel,
inhuman or degrading
treatment or punishment
- Enforced Disappearance
- Summary Execution or
Extrajudicial killing

Common causes for popular

dissatisfaction:
- Selective enforcement of the
law
- Rude behavior, abusive
language & contempt
towards HR.
- Ignorance of the laws of HR,
or deliberately disregard
them in matters of arrest,
 interrogation, searching &
detention
- Differential attitudes
depending on socio-cultural
status, economic power &
political influences of people
- Violation of the law and
getting away with impunity.
- Lack of accountability in
protection of life and
property.
- Insensitive towards victims
of violent crimes.
 Sometimes behaving rudely
with victims
- Think HR as antithesis to
effective military
enforcement, blames the
law, lawyer, and courts for
their own inefficiency.
- Corruption
- Search as an incident to
lawful arrest
- Search of moving vehicles(
Search based on probable
cause) SW is required for
 the search of a dwelling
house.
- Seizure of evidence in plain
view
- Waiver of right
- Armed Conflict (wartime)
- Conduct of “Areal Target
Zone” and Saturation
Drives’’.
- Checkpoints (requisites)
abnormal times limited to
visual search vehicle not
 search passengers not
subjected to body search.
- Stop and Frisk- limited
protective search
- Prevailing general chaos
and disorder because of an
ongoing coup.