How can countries undergoing democratic transition strengthen and monitor police transformation? What issues should be focused on when evaluating the outcome of democratic policing? This handbook, published by the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation, lists 39 key measures relevant to evaluating police performance in countries undergoing reform processes. The use of indicators is important for the external accountability of the police as well for purposes of managerial control.
The framework for police accountability in South Africa has been reformed since the early 1990s, but work still needs to be done to consolidate police transformation. Effective oversight and accountability entails supporting police leadership in understanding and resolving challenges. There is a global trend toward using output indicators for measurement and evaluation of policing. Indicators in this regard refer to information that is meaningful for evaluating democratic policing.
Democratic policing is a normative framework for the behaviour and techniques appropriate to police in a democratic setting, regardless of structures and operational strategies. It addresses issues related to the governance and conduct of policing. The relationships between the police and other government institutions, as well as with the general public, are important aspects of democratic policing.
Democratic policing transcends a mechanistic adherence to the law, and upholds key principles of democracy. These principles include integrity, respect for human dignity and rights, non-discrimination, fairness and professionalism. There are five areas in which indicators provide a framework for assessing democratic policing:
- Protection of democratic political life; the police should make a special effort to safeguard activities that are essential to the exercise of democracy.
- Police governance, accountability and transparency; police activity must be open to observation and regularly reported to outsiders.
- Service delivery for safety, justice and security; the basic services which the police provide in a democracy.
- Proper police conduct; police actions in a democracy must be governed by the rule of law rather than by particular government regimes and their members.
- Police as citizens; the police must be treated in a manner consistent with their dignity.
South Africa has made substantial progress in the democratic transformation of its police. Improvements in the use of output indicators can assist oversight bodies and donors in ensuring that these reforms are sustained. Countries in transition should make use of indicators in police services to promote common understanding of the reform process and to evaluate the process itself. In this regard, observations and recommendations for policymakers are:
- For democratic policing to be fully established governments must themselves commit to democracy.
- Governments of countries in transition are likely to be involved in directing police beyond national policies, plans and budgets. Clear and transparent procedures for the exercise of governmental control, including appointment of senior police officers, are necessary to prevent misuse of power.
- The role of the police is not merely to shield society against crime, but to act as a resource in strengthening society’s ability to prevent and deal with crime. A key question in evaluating service delivery is whether the police work in a manner that promotes communication and partnership.
- Burdensome evaluation can discourage reforms. Systems for evaluation need to be appropriate to the context in which they are implemented.
- Regular scientific crime surveys as a supplement to police statistics are essential to establishing accurate crime statistics.
- Current programme reporting in South Africa should be complemented by geographically-based reporting to facilitate comparison between different policing areas.
