Police and Security, Vol. 19 No. 1, 2010.
Review article
International Human Rights Standards for Law Enforcement and Police Education
Zvonimir Dujmović
; Police Academy, Zagreb, Croatia
Marijan Šuperina
; Police Academy, Zagreb, Croatia
Abstract
The paper analyzes international human rights standards for law enforcement and obligations in police education following from the international documents. The starting point is that adequate, up-to-date and appropriate content in the education of police officers is necessary for their efficient and lawful actions. During the educational process, a police officer must acquire knowledge, skills and competencies in the use of police powers exercising them in the lawful way and according to the principles of legality, necessity, non-discrimination, humanity, graduality, proportionality and subsidarity. Proper education is important for such conduct of police officers. Ali over the world the effort invested in educating police officers is remarkable. The paper analyzes 35 international legal sources (conventions, declarations, agreements) with the topics that deal with police educa¬tion. Using qualitative analysis of the above-mentioned sources, they are divided into three groups: a) those which consider the use of force and its limitations regarding principles of human rights compulsory in police education, b) those which are oriented towards organizing police training in acquiring skills and competencies for practical use of force and c) those which regulate offering help in organizing courses, establishing standard operative procedure etc. The research findings show that proper police education and training of police officers at ali levels as well as adoption of international police standards of procedure is conditio sine quanon of lawful and socially approved use of police powers and protection of human rights and basic freedoms. This statement is enforced by the fact that police officers have, in relation to ali other civil servants, the greatest possibilities to restrict human rights and basic freedoms. In such qualitative assessments and conclusions about police education, as a subsystem of police system, its important element must not be neglected, and that is personal competencies of the (future) police officer.
Keywords
human rights; police; police education; police powers; international standards
Hrčak ID:
79404
URI
Publication date:
15.3.2010.
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