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INDIA:
Code of Conduct for the Police
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[Ed. note: This code of conduct was
written by the Indian government for its police forces and was taken from the
publication A
Training Manual for Police on Human Rights edited by N. R. Madhava Menon and published by
the Human Rights Centre of the National Law School of India University, 1997,
Bangalore, India.] (1) The police must bear faithful allegiance to the Constitution of
India and respect and uphold the rights of the citizens as guaranteed by it. (2) The police should not question
the propriety or necessity of any law duly enacted. They should enforce the law firmly and impartially without fear or
favour, malice or vindictiveness. (3) The police should recognize and respect the limitations of their
powers and functions. They should not usurp or even seem to usurp the
functions of the judiciary and sit in judgement on cases to avenge individuals and punish the guilty. (4) In securing the observance of law
or in maintaining order, the police should, as far as practicable, use the
methods of persuasion, advice and warning. When the application of force
becomes inevitable, only the irreducible minimum
amount of force required under the circumstances should be used. (5) The prime
duty of the police is to prevent crime and disorder, and the police must
recognize that the test of their efficiency is the absence of both and not
the visible evidence of police action in dealing with them. (6) The police must recognize that
they are members of the public with the only difference being that in the
interests of society and on its behalf they are employed to give full
attention to duties which are normally incumbent on every citizen to
perform. (7) The police should realize that
the efficient performance of their duties will be dependent on the extent of
cooperation that they receive from the public. This, in turn, will depend on
their ability to secure public
approval of their conduct and actions and to earn and retain public respect
and confidence. (8) The police
should always keep the welfare of the people in mind and be sympathetic and
considerate towards them. They should always be ready to offer individual
service and friendship and render necessary assistance to all without regard
to their wealth or social standing. (9) The police should always place
duty before self, should remain calm in the face of danger, scorn or ridicule
and should be ready to sacrifice their lives in protecting those of others. (10) The police should always be courteous and well-mannered. They should be dependable and impartial.
They should possess dignity and courage and should cultivate character and
the trust of the people. (11) Integrity of
the highest order is the fundamental basis of the prestige of the police.
Recognizing this, the police must keep their private lives scrupulously
clean, develop self-restraint and be truthful and honest in thought and deed,
in both their personal and official life, so that the public may regard them
as exemplary citizens. (12) The police should recognize that
their full utility to the State is best ensured only by maintaining a high
standard of discipline, by faithfully performing their duties in accordance
with the law and by implicitly obeying the lawful directions of the
commanding ranks and maintaining absolute loyalty to the force and by keeping
themselves in a state of constant training and preparedness. (13) As members of a secular,
democratic State, the police should strive continually to rise above personal prejudices and
should promote harmony and the spirit of common brotherhood among all
of the people of India, transcending religious, linguistic and regional or
sectional diversities, and should renounce practices derogatory to the
dignity of women and the disadvantaged segments of society. PLEASE SEE THE CODE OF CONDUCT FOR
POLICE ISSUED FROM UN IN THIS REGARD … https://www.angelfire.com/pro2/dchakrab/Police_Code_Of_Conduct_UN.htm |
