Feudal Forces: Democratic Nations - Police Accountability in

FEUDAL FORCES: DEMOCRATIC NATIONSWhy does police malpractice continue to takeplace?The context in which police officers undertake their daily work is important to explore, tohelp understand why police misconduct continues to take place. As discussed previously,colonial era laws set up a system of regime policing that allows and supports abuse of thecommunity by the police. The laws and the way policing has developed in the region has ledto a situation today that is conducive to police malpractice. This context is characterised byimpunity, illegitimate political interference into police operations, public perceptions ofincreasing crime and the militarisation of the police.Legal and institutional impunityWidespread impunity in the region means that there is a boundless tolerance for poorperformance by police officers in delivering safety and security and protecting the rule oflaw. Given that the police are largely governed by the political executive – and in manyjurisdictions closely controlled by them – impunity persists not by accident, but by design.All the countries in the region either have legal provisions that allow impunity or entrenchedpractice supporting it; many have both. In Sri Lanka, the thousands of cases of disappearancesidentified by Commissions of Inquiry led to few prosecutions and virtually no convictions -despite evidence of systemic state sponsored violence and in some cases evidence thatidentified state agents. 60 In Pakistan, “the failure of the Government to investigate and punishabusive police officers effectively created a climate of impunity for police abuse…[which]was widely considered a great obstacle to ending or reducing police abuse.” 6128 :: POLICE ACCOUNTABILITY IN SOUTH ASIAProtection from prosecutionunder ordinary lawMany countries have provisions in criminal procedurecodes that provide considerable protection to publicservants, including police officials, from prosecution.In India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, these codesprovide that police officials cannot be prosecutedwithout prior permission from the relevant governmentfor acts done in the course of performing their duties. 62It is usually very difficult to obtain this permission.Special/emergency lawsAll the countries of Commonwealth South Asia (exceptMaldives, where no information is available) havespecial laws that explicitly grant immunity fromprosecution to the police and other security forcepersonnel in particular situations. In India, antiterrorismlegislation provides immunity fromprosecution and other legal proceedings to securityforces for acts done in good faith under the law,including killings. 63 In Bangladesh, the Special PowersAct gives the police excessive powers of prolongedarrest and detention without charge, and providesofficers with immunity from prosecution or other legalproceedings for anything done in good faith underthe law. 64