Presented by Graham Mathias

1. Reinstating the Rule of Law - Establishing the foundation for development and security Presented by Graham Mathias International Parliamentary Conference on Peacebuilding: Tackling State Fragility Tuesday 2 February

2. Reinstating the Rule of Law - Establishing the foundation for development and security • Focus on: • Priorities that should drive post conflict SSR • How the international community should engage without compromising local ownership • The importance of Democratic (Community) Policing to this process

3. ‘To maintain at all times a relationship with the public that gives reality to the tradition that the police are the public and the public are the police. The police being only members of the public that are paid to give full time attention to duties which are incumbent on every citizen in the interests of community welfare and existence’ (Sir Robert Peel 1829) • ‘Policing in a Democracy is far to important to be left to the police alone’

4. What is Community Policing? • The police working in partnership with the community; • The community thereby participating in its own policing; • And the two working together, mobilising resources, to solve problems affecting public safety over the longer term rather than the police, merely reacting, short term to incidents as they occur

5. What institutional reforms should international assistance promote within the police if democratic government is to be created • Four reforms are essential: • Police must be accountable to the law rather than to government • (Note: In a democracy police, actions must be governed by the rule of law rather than orders by particular regimes and their members. Democratic police do not make the law, they apply it)

6. Police must protect human rights, especially those rights that are required for the sort of political activity that is the hallmark of democracy • (Note: Democracy requires not only that the police be constrained by the law but that they focus on activities that are essential to it, e.g. freedom of speech – exercising powers of arrest and detention)

7. 3. Police must be accountable to people outside their organisation • (Note: Rule of Law is an empty promise if police cannot be made accountable for its individuals and institutions)

8. Police must give operational priority to servicing the needs of individual citizens • (Quality of service)

9. The challenge • Balancing national security against individual rights. • The balance must be struck between: • Protecting society from terrorism and safeguarding human rights • Information sharing and maintaining respect for privacy • Police transparency and protecting police sources and methods • Police independence and public accountability

10. The realisation of Community Policing from principles to operational practices is dependent on: • Acceptance and commitment by police officers throughout the organisation that this is the core function of all activity • “All policing is community policing” • Adequate, appropriate and realistic allocation of resources so that policing can shift from a reactive approach to a proactive partnership one • Acceptance, commitment and support of the communities for this style and model of policing