11293 report 19 - CAIN - University of Ulster

human rightsRecommendation 2: New Police OathPatten Recommendation:2. There should be a new oath, taken individually by all new and existing police officers,expressing an explicit commitment to upholding human rights.Lead Responsibility: Chief Constable/Policing BoardRecommendation StatusCompliance with this recommendation has been achieved.HistoryAll recruits now attest to the new oath during graduation exercises at the end of their initialtwenty weeks of training. All personnel recruited before September of 2002 have signed astatement that they understand the new oath and accept the new Code of Ethics. Police officersrecruited laterally from other police services attest to the new oath at the end of their five-weekinduction course. The new oath follows the wording suggested by the Independent Commission,with the addition of the phrase “and that while I continue to hold the said office I will to the bestof my skill and knowledge discharge all the duties thereof according to law”.Recommendation 3: Code of EthicsPatten Recommendation:3. A new Code of Ethics should replace the existing, largely procedural code, integrating theEuropean Convention on Human Rights into police practice. Codes of practice on all aspectsof policing, including covert law enforcement techniques, should be strictly in accordance withthe European Convention on Human Rights.Lead Responsibility: Chief Constable/Policing Board/NIORecommendation StatusCompliance with this recommendation has been achieved.HistoryA new Code of Ethics was approved by the Policing Board and published by the Police Service on13 February 2003. It explicitly cites international conventions, notably the European Conventionon Human Rights, the United Nations Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials, the UnitedNations Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials, and theEuropean Police Code of Ethics. Covert policing is made compliant with the EuropeanConvention on Human rights though the passage of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act2000 (RIPA), which in turn was required to be compliant with the Human Rights Act 1998 thatincorporated the European Convention into UK law.The new Code of Ethics became the conduct regulations for all police officers when the Police(Northern Ireland) Act 2003 came into force in March of 2003. In their first annual review ofhuman rights, the Policing Board’s human rights advisors noted that these regulations make thePolice Service of Northern Ireland the first police service anywhere in Europe with such an27