Feudal Forces: Democratic Nations - Police Accountability in

FEUDAL FORCES: DEMOCRATIC NATIONSDemocratic policing inundemocratic societiesThe need for police reform has been recognised in all the countries of South Asia. All thegovernments in the region – except Maldives – have constituted specific commissions orcommittees to examine policing and suggest reforms. Prior to 2000, committee report aftercommittee report was completed around the region, only to sit, gathering dust on publicservice shelves, with no chance of implementation. However, this trend is changing. Pakistanand Sri Lanka have taken concrete steps in bring about legislative and constitutional changes,although good reforms are often later diluted or undermined. The other countries in theregion are debating, planning and engaging in reform to different degrees. A problematiccharacteristic of the reform processes in the region is the complete absence of publicparticipation. The state centric reform processes have shaped policing in secrecy, withoutany public consultation or inputs. Furthermore, lack of political will still remains a problem– both in implementing and in committing to sustaining reform.Moving back and forth: Pakistan and Sri LankaPakistan has seen a spate of commissions that recommended police reform, including thePolice Commission headed by Mr. Justice J.B. Constantine between 1961 and 1962, thePolice Commission led by Maj. General A.O. Mitha that ran from 1968 to 1970, a oneman committee of Mr. G. Ahmed in 1972, the Foreign Experts Committee composed ofRomanian Police Experts in 1976, the Police ReformsCommittee chaired by Mr. Rafi Raza, also in 1976,the Police Committee headed by Mr. Aslam Hayat in1985 and finally the Police Reforms ImplementationCommittee, under M.A.K. Chaudhry, in 1990. Notone of the major recommendations put forward bythese committees was put in place until 2002.In a regional conference on policing in2007, delegates from Pakistan pointedout that it was the military regime –and not democratic governance orpublic pressure – that introducedprovisions for public oversight over thepolice. An interesting observationmade at the meeting was that whiledemocratic governments in South Asiawere resistant or slow to reform,governments that were not chosen bypopular mandate (the militarydictatorship in Pakistan and thecaretaker government in Bangladesh)were more proactive and willing to putin place police and otheradministrative reforms. It wassuggested that this is an attempt togain legitimacy. Notably, internationalexperts at the meeting were clear thattrue democratic policing could existonly in a democratic society.” 82Pakistan’s Police Order of 2002 is a part of a processinitiated under an Asian Development Bank fundedcriminal justice sector reform programme. The new lawput in place mechanisms and processes toinstitutionalise police reform by checking politicalinterference with police functioning and ensuringaccountability for performance and misconduct. Thereform process was derailed when provincialgovernments refused to implement the Police Order,arguing that federal law encroached upon theirconstitutional responsibility to maintain law and order.After much pressure from the provinces, the Presidentagreed to amend the law in 2004 and many of theprovisions that limited the scope of illegitimate politicalinterference and police accountability were diluted.Sri Lanka has also had its share of commissions onpolice reform, but it was only in 2001 that theGovernment sought to take firm action, byconstitutional amendment. The 17 th Constitutionalamendment, sought to depoliticise the process ofappointment to independent commissions (includingthe National Police Commission and National HumanRights Commission) as well as certain individual posts(including the Inspector General of the Police). Theamendment did this by creating a ConstitutionalCouncil 83 that would make or approve criticalappointments. Consisting of ten members – the PrimeMinister, the Speaker of Parliament, the leader of theopposition, one nominee of the President, fivenominees recommended jointly by the Prime Ministerand the leader of the opposition and one whorepresents minority parties – this Council was intendedto work in a non-partisan manner.36 :: POLICE ACCOUNTABILITY IN SOUTH ASIA