• Commonwealth:
• Human rights training for Caribbean police

Human rights training for Caribbean police

20 June 2008

Jamaica workshop targeted at equipping police with knowledge about human rights and law enforcement

Thirty-three police officers from Commonwealth Caribbean countries will participate in a Commonwealth human rights training workshop in Kingston, Jamaica, from 23 to 27 June 2008.

Jamaica’s Minister of Justice Dorothy Lightbourne will open the workshop that will take place at the Constabulary Staff College in Spanish Town. The workshop is aimed at increasing the awareness of and respect for human rights in policing.

“We hope that the police officers who graduate from this workshop will be more knowledgeable about human rights issues that are applicable to everyday policing in order to carry out their duties and responsibilities effectively,” said Dr Purna Sen, Head of the Human Rights Unit at the Commonwealth Secretariat, which is running the workshop.

“This training draws on the experience from around the Commonwealth on human rights and law enforcement, and it examines best practices that are benchmarked against international standards as outlined by UN human rights conventions.”

Dr Sen added that the police who are tasked with crime prevention and the maintenance of law and order, have to protect the basic human rights of citizens. She pointed out that knowing the limits of lawful police authority, conduct and accountability are important.

“It is vital to sensitise the police force to human rights values so that it is part and parcel of law enforcement training. This includes issues such as crowd management, arrest and detention, search and seizure, investigation, use of force and dealing with crime suspects and victims,” said Dr Sen. “Communities which feel their rights are respected by the police will have greater confidence in them and this will in turn create greater goodwill and co-operation that will translate into strong community relations for effective policing.”

This workshop has already been conducted at a regional level in various Commonwealth countries in the Pacific and Africa over the past four years.