Promoting Human Rights Professionalism in the Liberian Police Force

bharris — Fri, 25 May 2007 20:08:10 -0500

Promoting Human Rights Professionalism in the Liberian Police Force

By Cecil Griffiths

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In this notebook, we learn about the efforts, ability, and commitment of law enforcement personnel–one of the most difficult groups to reach regarding human rights–to address and confront human rights issues and violations from their own perspective and within their own ranks. The Liberian National Law Enforcement Association (LINLEA) was established by law enforcement personnel themselves to address issues of poor leadership, blind loyalty, and lack of professional training, each of which have contributed to a poor quality of services and a high incidence of human rights abuses. LINLEA has worked to promote professionalism as a way to enhance human rights standards and reduce incidences of abuse. This tactic provides insights into how the law enforcement profession itself can understand the connection between professionalism and human rights–exposing abuses when they occur–to send signals to government and civil society that action can and must be taken to address abuses.

As dictated by canons of police ethics, which instruct officers to respect the constitutional rights of all people to liberty, equality, and justice, law enforcement officers are supposed to be the leading human rights protectors and promoters everywhere in the world. Unfortunately, due to lack of training and discipline, poor leadership, and political manipulation, law enforcement personnel often engage in unprofessional conduct that leads to abuses of human rights. In 1993, after the war 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 appoint law enforcement officials who can be manipulated to perpetuate, through oppression, suppression, and intimidation, the regime’s tenure. To address these issues of unprofessionalism and human rights abuses, we decided to establish a professional association: The Liberian National Law Enforcement Association, or LINLEA.

LINLEA promotes training opportunities for law enforcement officers; advocates for a merit-based system of promotion, the appointment of qualified administrators, and fair and impartial adjudication of complaints against officers; and discourages partisanship and political manipulation of law enforcement agencies. At LINLEA we use a variety of means to achieve our objectives. We host professional training workshops for law enforcement officers, and organize public lecture forums and radio programs to discuss issues related to the administration of justice. 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 advocate for reforms of law enforcement and criminal justice institutions, conduct research on the causes of crime and the responses of the criminal justice system, and publish our findings and recommendations. As our organization has grown in size and credibility, we have also been able to call attention to internal problems and unprofessional behavior in the department, and demand justice for victims–including unfairly accused police officers. We are beginning to monitor and catalogue police abuses.

LINLEA now has over 500 members, including nearly 20 percent of the police force, as well as many members of other law enforcement institutions. Through our Center for Criminal Justice Research and Education, we have been able to provide leadership and human rights training for 223 senior law enforcement officers. The Center has also conducted a training workshop for law enforcement trainers and curriculum 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 this sort is the most effective way to bring about change in police behavior. Human rights organizations can raise awareness of the nature and incidents of human rights abuses in society. But when a professional body related to law enforcement becomes involved in highlighting and exposing these abuses, it sends a different signal to the government and to the police department itself, a signal they are more likely to heed. In this notebook I describe the creation of our police association, and the development of our work supporting within the police force a professional attitude that is respectful of human rights. I then discuss some of the questions relevant to the use of this tactic in other contexts. Whether you are a concerned law enforcement professional or a human rights activist, it is my hope that this analysis will help you consider how steps can be taken to professionalize the police and improve its human rights record in your own situation.

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