Police Accountability: Too Important to Neglect, Too Urgent to Delay

In too many countries, governments are failing in their primary duty to provide the public with an honest, efficient, effective police service that ensures the rule of law and an environment of safety and security. Membership of the Commonwealth is premised on countries being democratic - and this requires democratic policing. The only legitimate policing is policing that helps create an environment free from fear and conductive to the realization of people's human rights, particularly those that promote unfettered political activity, which is the hallmark of a democracy. As CHRI advocates in its report to the Commonwealth Heads of Government, police reform is now too important to neglect and too urgent to delay. This report calls on the Commonwealth to explicitly acknowledge that police reform is needed in many countries of the Commonwealth and to lead the move toward better policing. CHRI urges the Commonwealth to develop Commonwealth Principles of Policing based on its core principles and international standards.