police code of ethics

ELEMENTS OF A CODE OF ETHICS FOR POLICE SERVICES

What sort of things should go into a Code of Ethics for police services? As our page, on How to write an ethics code stated, each code must be suited to the character of the police service and the society in which it operates. But it may help to browse through codes of ethics used in various nations of the world. (Take care to respect any copyright requirements.) Here is a link to a Canadian police ethics code. Below that is the entire United Nations Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officers.

BRITISH COLUMBIA CODE OF PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT REGULATION (NB: Copyright)

http://www.qp.gov.bc.ca/police/r205_98.htm

UNITED NATIONS

Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials, G.A. res. 34/169, annex, 34 U.N.

GAOR Supp. (No. 46) at 186, U.N. Doc. A/34/46 (1979).

Article 1

Law enforcement officials shall at all times fulfil the duty imposed upon them

by law, by serving the community and by protecting all persons against illegal

acts, consistent with the high degree of responsibility required by their

profession.

Commentary:

(a) The term "law enforcement officials', includes all officers of the law,

whether appointed or elected, who exercise police powers, especially the

powers of arrest or detention.

(b) In countries where police powers are exercised by military authorities,

whether uniformed or not, or by State security forces, the definition of law

enforcement officials shall be regarded as including officers of such

services.

of services of assistance to those members of the community who by reason of

personal, economic, social or other emergencies are in need of immediate aid.

(d) This provision is intended to cover not only all violent, predatory and

harmful acts, but extends to the full range of prohibitions under penal

statutes. It extends to conduct by persons not capable of incurring criminal

liability.

Article 2

In the performance of their duty, law enforcement officials shall respect and

protect human dignity and maintain and uphold the human rights of all persons.

Commentary:

(a) The human rights in question are identified and protected by national and

international law. Among the relevant international instruments are the

Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and

Political Rights, the Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from Being

Subjected to Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or

Punishment, the United Nations Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of

Racial Discrimination, the International Convention on the Elimination of All

Forms of Racial Discrimination, the International Convention on the

Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid, the Convention on the

Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, the Standard Minimum Rules

for the Treatment of Prisoners and the Vienna Convention on Consular

Relations.

(b) National commentaries to this provision should indicate regional or

national provisions identifying and protecting these rights.

Article 3

Law enforcement officials may use force only when strictly necessary and to

the extent required for the performance of their duty.

Commentary:

(a) This provision emphasizes that the use of force by law enforcement

officials should be exceptional; while it implies that law enforcement

officials may be authorized to use force as is reasonably necessary under the

circumstances for the prevention of crime or in effecting or assisting in the

lawful arrest of offenders or suspected offenders, no force going beyond that

may be used.

(b) National law ordinarily restricts the use of force by law enforcement

officials in accordance with a principle of proportionality. It is to be

understood that such national principles of proportionality are to be

respected in the interpretation of this provision. In no case should this

provision be interpreted to authorize the use of force which is

disproportionate to the legitimate objective to be achieved.

be made to exclude the use of firearms, especially against children. In

general, firearms should not be used except when a suspected offender offers

armed resistance or otherwise jeopardizes the lives of others and less extreme

measures are not sufficient to restrain or apprehend the suspected offender.

In every instance in which a firearm is discharged, a report should be made

promptly to the competent authorities.

Article 4

Matters of a confidential nature in the possession of law enforcement

officials shall be kept confidential , unless the performance of duty or the

needs of justice strictly require otherwise.

Commentary:

By the nature of their duties, law enforcement officials obtain information

which may relate to private lives or be potentially harmful to the interests,

and especially the reputation, of others. Great care should be exercised in

safeguarding and using such information, which should be disclosed only in the

performance of duty or to serve the needs of justice. Any disclosure of such

information for other purposes is wholly improper.

Article 5

No law enforcement official may inflict, instigate or tolerate any act of

torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, nor may

any law enforcement official invoke superior orders or exceptional

circumstances such as a state of war or a threat of war, a threat to national

security, internal political instability or any other public emergency as a

justification of torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or

punishment .

Commentary:

(a) This prohibition derives from the Declaration on the Protection of All

Persons from Being Subjected to Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading

Treatment or Punishment, adopted by the General Assembly, according to which:

"[Such an act is] an offence to human dignity and shall be condemned as a

denial of the purposes of the Charter of the United Nations and as a violation

of the human rights and fundamental freedoms proclaimed in the Universal

Declaration of Human Rights [and other international human rights

instruments]."

(b) The Declaration defines torture as follows:

". . . torture means any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether

physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted by or at the instigation of a

public official on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or a

third person information or confession, punishing him for an act he has

committed or is suspected of having committed, or intimidating him or other

persons. It does not include pain or suffering arising only from, inherent

in or incidental to, lawful sanctions to the extent consistent with the

Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners."

been defined by the General Assembly but should be interpreted so as to extend

the widest possible protection against abuses, whether physical or mental.

Article 6

Law enforcement officials shall ensure the full protection of the health of

persons in their custody and, in particular, shall take immediate action to

secure medical attention whenever required.

Commentary:

(a) "Medical attention", which refers to services rendered by any medical

personnel, including certified medical practitioners and paramedics, shall be

secured when needed or requested.

(b) While the medical personnel are likely to be attached to the law

enforcement operation, law enforcement officials must take into account the

judgement of such personnel when they recommend providing the person in

custody with appropriate treatment through, or in consultation with, medical

personnel from outside the law enforcement operation.

attention for victims of violations of law or of accidents occurring in the

course of violations of law.

Article 7

Law enforcement officials shall not commit any act of corruption. They shall

also rigorously oppose and combat all such acts.

Commentary:

(a) Any act of corruption, in the same way as any other abuse of authority, is

incompatible with the profession of law enforcement officials. The law must be

enforced fully with respect to any law enforcement official who commits an act

of corruption, as Governments cannot expect to enforce the law among their

citizens if they cannot, or will not, enforce the law against their own agents

and within their agencies.

(b) While the definition of corruption must be subject to national law, it

should be understood to encompass the commission or omission of an act in the

performance of or in connection with one's duties, in response to gifts,

promises or incentives demanded or accepted, or the wrongful receipt of these

once the act has been committed or omitted.

to encompass attempted corruption.

Article 8

Law enforcement officials shall respect the law and the present Code. They

shall also, to the best of their capability, prevent and rigorously oppose any

violations of them.

Law enforcement officials who have reason to believe that a violation of the

present Code has occurred or is about to occur shall report the matter to

their superior authorities and, where necessary, to other appropriate

authorities or organs vested with reviewing or remedial power.

Commentary:

(a) This Code shall be observed whenever it has been incorporated into

national legislation or practice. If legislation or practice contains stricter

provisions than those of the present Code, those stricter provisions shall be

observed.

(b) The article seeks to preserve the balance between the need for internal

discipline of the agency on which public safety is largely dependent, on the

one hand, and the need for dealing with violations of basic human rights, on

the other. Law enforcement officials shall report violations within the chain

of command and take other lawful action outside the chain of command only when

no other remedies are available or effective. It is understood that law

enforcement officials shall not suffer administrative or other penalties

because they have reported that a violation of this Code has occurred or is

about to occur.

remedial power" refers to any authority or organ existing under national law,

whether internal to the law enforcement agency or independent thereof, with

statutory, customary or other power to review grievances and complaints

arising out of violations within the purview of this Code.

(d) In some countries, the mass media may be regarded as performing complaint

review functions similar to those described in subparagraph (c) above. Law

enforcement officials may, therefore, be justified if, as a last resort and in

accordance with the laws and customs of their own countries and with the

provisions of article 4 of the present Code, they bring violations to the

attention of public opinion through the mass media.

(e) Law enforcement officials who comply with the provisions of this Code

deserve the respect, the full support and the co-operation of the community

and of the law enforcement agency in which they serve, as well as the law

enforcement profession.

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