We Say

Greetings from CHRI!

The best policing in the world is found in the Commonwealth, and the worst.

The colonial experience and the struggle to attain and deepen democracies through apartheid, cruel conflicts, military dictatorships, and one party rule has shaped our policing in the Commonwealth. Police forces were designed to be loyal and subservient to the rulers of the moment, without any concept of being accountable to the law or to the population. While some countries have reformed their police to become a support for strong democracy and rule of laws others lag behind in providing their populations with an appropriate form of policing which will serve all the people rather than the regime of the day.

The ideas of the police being a part of the community and accountable to it, and of a policeman being a citizen in uniform, sensitive to the requirements of others and a conduit for access to justice has not grown as rapidly as constitutional government demands. However, there has been a conscious effort to introduce reforms in policing systems through improvised policing practices such as community policing in South Africa, the Independent Custody Visiting System in the UK, internal mechanisms of accountability reflected in Corporate Strategies such as in Botswana and in Jamaica.

The 'Commonwealth Police Watch' in its second edition reflects on some of these practices, initiatives and histories attached to the police forces around the Commonwealth. Our first edition has been received with enthusiasm from many quarters and we thrive on your feedback, so please do keep it coming. We deeply value your contributions, comments and even your criticisms.

Maja Daruwala
Director, CHRI

Feature Countering Human Trafficking: A Human Rights Imperative for the Police Human trafficking in the Commonwealth as well as other parts of the world is a serious, violent and insidious crime. The victims are a massive but voiceless 'underclass' of people who are largely invisible, forgotten and, in almost every catastrophe and war of the last half century, treated as disposable. Signing international conventions, enacting national laws, and devoting enforcement resources to the issue might result in a naught unless done with the goal of restoring dignity to the victims. The policing fraternity should prioritise restorative justice when it comes to fighting human trafficking. ...more

Women in Focus A Modicum of Respect is all that Women in Pakistan are asking for… Twenty-seven-year-old Samia Sarwar was gunned down in her attorneys' office in Lahore, Pakistan by a hit man retained by her family. Her mother, father, and paternal uncle were all accomplices to her murder. Ms. Sarwar was killed because she was seeking a divorce from her estranged husband - an action her family deemed "dishonorable" and, hence, warranting death. That Ms. Sarwar suffered such drastic consequences for asserting her independence is not surprising in Pakistan, where the practice of honor killing claims lives of hundreds of women every year. ...more

BLIND-MAN'S BUFF (As played by the police). "TURN ROUND THREE TIMES, AND CATCH WHOM YOU MAY!"

United Kingdom Kings Police Medal Instituted: 7 July 1909. Awarded: For those who performed acts of exceptional courage and skill or who have exhibited conspicuous devotion to duty   New Zealand Police Long Service and Good Conduct Medal Instituted: 8 September 1976. Awarded: For 14 years' service in the Police.