Article by Benjamin King.

The role and authority of police explained

According to the U.S Department of Justice [1],

law enforcement officers are authorized to use force in specified circumstances, are trained in the use of force, and typically face numerous circumstances during their careers when use of force is appropriate for example, in making some arrests, restraining unruly combatants, or controlling a disruptive demonstration. When the level of force exceeds the level considered justifiable under the circumstances, however, the activities of the police come under public scrutiny.

Incidents involving the use of excessive force by the police frequently receive attention from the media, legislators, and, in some instances, civil and even criminal courts. Whether the excessive force is aberrant behaviour of individual officers or is a pattern and practice of an entire law enforcement agency, both the law and public opinion condemn such incidents.

The role of police could satisfactorily be represented in a definition by Ambrose Bierce [a], a social critic, which states that police is ‘an armed force for protection and participation.’ The element of being armed implies that ultimate care and profession is a prerequisite for a police personnel during operations due to the lethal possibility. The aspect of ‘protection’ emphasises the obligation towards police to safeguard life and the integrity of the community toward which service is rendered. ‘Participation’ by police shines light to the core importance of service as a foundation in police operations.

Carl B. Klockars [2] postulates that the police, similar to other professional service providers like physicians, are given special rights to carry out certain operations. Moreover, the police freedom to use force is far broader and more varied than the physician’s freedom to use medicine to fight disease. The police need not invoke “the law” to use force, though they may decide to use force to invoke “the law”; they need not obtain the consent of a complainant nor the person on whom it is used to use it; there are few, if any, occasions on which anyone has a legal right to resist police use of force, even if police use it improperly; and it is rare that police use of force is actually ever reviewed or evaluated by anyone.

The synchronicity of police brutal and political instability

Over recent years, in unison with increased abuse of power and loss of democratic value in many countries, police brutality and impunity have increased to become an issue of great concern. In riots and protests that have happened in many nations across the globe, police brutality has featured prominently.

Vitali Shkliarov [3] has shown that The 2020–2021 Belarusian protests are a series of ongoing political demonstrations and protests against the Belarusian government and President Alexander Lukashenko. Uladz Hrydzin [4] stresses they are the largest anti-government protests in the history of Belarus, the demonstrations began in the lead-up to and during the 2020 presidential election, in which Lukashenko sought his sixth term in office.

BBC News [5] reported that, initially modest, the protests intensified nationwide after official election results were announced on the night of 10^th August, 2020 in which Lukashenko was declared the winner. Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, the main opponent of Lukashenko, rejected these results as falsified and claimed instead to have received 60–70% of the votes.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees [6] reported that the protesters have faced violent persecution by the authorities. A statement by the United Nations Human Rights Office on 1^st  September, 2020 cited more than 450 documented cases of torture and ill-treatment of detainees, as well as reports of sexual abuse and rape.

At the end of 2020, the Viasna Human Rights Centre documented 1,000 testimonies of torture victims. [7]

On 3^rd November 2020, UN experts criticized Belarus government for targeting women human rights defenders, during the mass protests. Three women human rights defenders were detained and persecuted by the authorities for their work as rights activists in September and early October. [8]

“We are deeply concerned that, instead of bringing perpetrators to justice, the authorities are arbitrarily seeking to silence all forms of dissent, through unjustified violence, intimidation and growingly by bringing criminal charges against those who exercise their fundamental rights or defend victims of human rights violations,” said UN experts in a statement urging the cessation of police brutality and impunity in Belarus on 2^nd April, 2021. [9]

Still in the same issue it is reported that “Meanwhile, reports indicate the Investigative Committee of Belarus, a State oversight body, has considered use of violence by law enforcement as justified and proportionate, and no officers have been charged in connection with allegations of torture and ill-treatment committed last year.”

A highly similar trend has been observed in countries in Africa over the past decade as a typical characteristic of manipulated elections void of democracy. A notable example is the recent 2021 Presidential elections in Uganda, prior to which considerable police brutality and violence towards the opposition side and citizens was experienced right from 2020 and straight into 2021 with unfair detention of supporting figures and associates of the opposition side. The same story was told of Nigeria in 2020 when multitudes of natives suffered at the hands of ruthless police officers.

Necessity for political reforms

The necessity for political reforms and intervention of international organisations is indispensable in the current situation in many victimised communities and nations.

Police brutality must end. Better and non-violent methods should be employed by police in dealing with crime and insecurity. Governments should ensure thorough professional training of police personnel in a very important and commonly overlooked aspect of how best to handle people and criminals. This should be made a core subject emphasised during military training.

The military, too, should function, to a great extent, independently so as to administer justice without manipulation or attachment to any leader. Military should see presidents come in and go out of office, while still functioning with independent integrity. Citizens should also play their role by being cooperative and responsible.

The society should always intervene at scenes to oppose violence in dealings with police. It is worth noting that a service free from manipulation or bias is core in executing justice.

REFERENCES

[1] U.S. Department of Justice. Use of Force By Police; Overview of National and Local Data,’ a research report by the National Institute of Justice, jointly published with the Bureau of Justice Statistics, USA.

https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/176330.pdf

[a] Ambrose Bierce: The Devil’s Dictionary published in 1911

[2] Police Executive Research Forum, Washington D.C; And Justice For All; Understanding and Controlling Police Abuse of Force.

https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/Digitization/155434NCJRS.pdf

[3] Vitali Shkliarov; Belarus is Having an Anti-‘Cockroach’ Revolution

https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/06/04/belarus-protest-vote-lukashenko-stop-cockroach/

[4] Uladz Hrydzin: Belarusians protest against Lukashenka’s run for sixth term as President.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.rferl.org/amp/belarus-protests-politcs/30632716.html

[5] BBC News: Belarus election: Exiled leader calls weekend of ‘peaceful rallies’

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-53780685

[6] “UN human rights experts: Belarus must stop torturing protesters and prevent enforced disappearances”

https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=26199&LangID=E

[7] Viasna: “Human Rights Situation in Belarus in 2020”

http://spring96.org/en/news/101223

[8] UN News: “ Belarus targets women human rights defenders after disputed August elections”

https://news.un.org/en/story/2020/11/1076822

[9] UN News: End Police brutality in Belaurus, rights experts urge.

https://news.un.org/en/story/2021/04/1088922