Interpol’s Group of
Experts on Corruption Enacts Global Standards to Combat Corruption in Police
Forces / Services
The International Police Organization’s (Interpol)
Group of Experts on Corruption (IGEC) and The
Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC), hosted an
international conference in Hong Kong, China, from January 22 to 24, 2003, to
address corruption in the public sector and particularly in law enforcement.
Interpol became actively involved in initiatives to
curb corruption in law enforcement agencies
worldwide in 1998 by creating the Interpol Group of Experts on
Corruption that year. At its
January conference, the IGEC’s focus was on the implementation of
recently adopted international
standards of ethical behaviour for police officers. The IGEC is made up of representatives from Africa, the
Americas, Asia and Europe. Royal
Canadian Mounted Police Commissioner Giuliano Zaccardelli and the Ethics and
Integrity Advisor for the Force, Assistant Commissioner John Spice, who is also
a member of the IGEC, attended the conference.
At the 71st General Assembly of Interpol,
held in October 2002, in Yaoundé, Cameroon, delegates from a majority of
Interpol’s 181 member countries, including Canada, adopted the Global
Standards to Combat Corruption in Police Forces / Services, [1]
which were prepared by a leading group of world experts in the field of police
disciplinary law and justice, headed by Justice Barry O’Keefe, Supreme Court of
New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.
The IGEC’s mandate is premised on the
understanding that law enforcement is an essential element for the maintenance
of the fundamental human rights, for the preservation of life and property and
the protection of the innocent. Along
with its initiatives to combat corruption in the international law enforcement
community, the IGEC raises awareness of corruption and provides tools
for those dedicated to combating corruption and facilitates easy access to
these tools by providing a valuable electronic research data base, much of which
is available to the public.
The Global Standards to Combat Corruption were
first presented to Interpol’s General Assembly in Budapest 2001 and
adopted in their final format at the last General Assembly in Camaroon. While the Standards are not meant to
replace existing Codes of Ethics and Codes of Conduct governing police forces
in Canada, in many other developing countries or in areas marred by internal
conflicts, the Standards can assist in setting the foundation for a
comprehensive Code of Conduct and provide a best practice tool to improve law
enforcement’s ability and effectiveness in the fight against internal
corruption.
Canadian police services are generally respected
worldwide and the great majority of our law enforcement officials govern themselves
according to the highest standards of ethics.
For this reason, Interpol anticipates that support for the Standards from
the RCMP and other police agencies in Canada will reflect leadership in the
advancement of ethical standards in policing and law enforcement. The Standards are important in light
of Canada’s contributions and commitment to international law enforcement
efforts through our participation in United Nations Peacekeeping Missions in
areas of conflict and in this country’s daily interactions with foreign police
agencies and governments. The Standards
reflect a universal statement of common purpose and values.
The Global Standards to Combat Corruption and
related materials are available at www.interpol.int.,
you may also obtain official copies of the Global Standards by
contacting the Office of Ethics and Integrity Advisor of the Royal Canadian
Mounted Police at (613) 993-1661.
GLOBAL
STANDARDS TO COMBAT CORRUPTION IN POLICE FORCES/SERVICES
Interpol
Resolution No. AG-2002-RES-1
Article 1
Objectives
1.1 To
ensure that the police forces/services of each Member State of Interpol have
high standards of honesty, integrity and ethical behaviour in and in connection
with the performance of their policing functions.
1.2 To promote and strengthen the development by each Member State of Interpol of measures needed to prevent, detect, punish and eradicate corruption in the police forces/services within its national boundaries and to bring to justice police officers and other employees of police forces/services who are corrupt.
Article 2
Definitions
Corruption includes:
2.1 The
solicitation or acceptance, whether directly or indirectly, by a police officer
or other employee of a police
force/service of any money, article of value, gift, favour, promise,
reward or advantage, whether for
himself/herself or for any person, group or entity, in return for any act or
omission already done or omitted or to be done or omitted in the future in or
in connection with the performance of any function of or connected with
policing.
2.2 The
offering or granting, whether directly or indirectly, to a police officer or
other employee of a police force/service of any money, article of value, gift,
favour, promise, reward or advantage for the police officer or other employee
or for any person, group or entity in return for any act or omission already
done or omitted or to be done or omitted in the future in or in connection with
the performance of any function of or connected with policing.
2.3 Any act or omission in the
discharge of duties by a police officer or other employee of a police
force/service which may improperly expose any person to a charge or conviction
for a criminal offence or may improperly assist in a person not being charged
with or being acquitted of a criminal offence.
2.4 The unauthorized
dissemination of confidential or restricted police information whether for
reward or otherwise.
2.5 Any act or omission in the
discharge of duties by a police officer or other employee of a police
force/service for the purpose of obtaining any money, article of value, gift,
favour, promise, reward or advantage for himself/herself or any other person,
group or entity.
2.6 Any act or omission which
constitutes corruption under a law of the Member State.
2.7 Participation as a principal,
co-principal, initiator, instigator, accomplice, accessory before the fact,
accessory after the fact, conspirator or in any other manner in the commission
or attempted commission of any act referred to in the preceding provisions of
this Article.
Police force/service means each police
force or police service or other official body with a responsibility to perform
policing functions within the national boundaries of the Member State.
Article 3
Principles
3.1 To
make corruption within police forces/services a high-risk crime.
3.2 To
promote and maintain a high standard of honesty, integrity and ethical
behaviour within the police forces/services of each Member.
3.3 To
foster the recruitment and training as police officers of persons of high
levels of integrity, honesty, ethical standards and expertise.
Article 4
Measures
Each member of the General Assembly commits to:
Standards of Conduct
4.1 Establishing and maintaining
high standards of conduct for the honest, ethical and effective performance of
policing functions.
4.1.1 Such standards should
mandate and be directed towards an understanding and application of honest,
ethical and appropriate behaviour, the avoidance of conflicts of interest, the
proper use of public resources in and in connection with the fair and impartial
application of the law, the performance of policing functions, the reporting of
acts of corruption in and in connection with and the performance of policing
functions and the establishment and strengthening of public confidence in
police officers and police forces/services as part of the system of justice.
4.1.2 Such standards should accept
that it is an obligation of the police force/service to seek out and
effectively deal with corruption within the police force/service.
4.1.3 Such standards should impose
an obligation on police officers and other employees of a police force/service
to report to the appropriate person or authority acts or omissions, which
constitute or may constitute corruption within the police force/service.
4.2 Setting
up and maintaining effective mechanisms to oversee and enforce the high
standards of conduct required in and in connection with the performance of
policing functions;
Recruitment, posting, promotion and
termination
4.3 Having and maintaining effective systems for the recruitment of police officers of high levels of integrity, honesty, ethical standards and expertise;
4.4 Ensuring
that the systems for recruitment, posting, promotion and termination of police
officers and other employees of the police forces/services are not arbitrary
but are based on fairness, openness, ability and performance;
Training
4.5 Having a
system for instructing police officers and others engaged in and in connection
with the performance of policing function of the standards and ethical rules
applicable to the performance of such functions;
4.6 Having
and maintaining a system for the training, including on-going training, of
police officers and other employees in the police forces/services which
reinforces the high standards of conduct referred to in Article 4.1;
Corruption
4.7 Putting in
place deterrents to the bribery of those performing or engaged in or in
connection with the performance of policing functions;
4.8 Using their best endeavours
to ensure that the mechanisms and systems for the prevention, detection,
punishment and eradication of corruption in and in connection with the
performance of policing functions in its police forces/services are kept
abreast of current practice as recognized by the General Assembly of Interpol;
4.9 Having an effective system
that obliges police officers and other employees of the police forces/services
to report, enables them and members of civil society to report corruption and
that protects those who report corruption in good faith;
4.10 Establishing mechanisms to
encourage participation by civil society in activities and efforts to prevent corruption in the police
forces/services;
4.11 Establishing
and enforcing procedures for the declaration and registration of the income,
assets and liabilities of those who perform policing functions and of
appropriate members of their families;
Systems
4.12 Having
and maintaining systems of revenue collection, money and property handling and
for the control and preservation of evidence that ensure that those collecting
or handling public money, dealing with evidence or handling property are
accountable and that the systems are such as to deter corruption;
4.13 Having and maintaining
systems for the procurement of goods and services that are based on openness,
efficiency, equity and certainty of the rules to be applied and that seek the
best value for money;
Monitoring
4.14 Establishing
a mechanism such as an oversight body or bodies to monitor the systems and
measures established for preventing, detecting, punishing and eradicating
corruption within the police forces/services and the adequacy, application and
effectiveness of such systems and measures;
4.15 Conferring or causing to be
conferred on a designated authority, whether internal or external, such powers
to carry out investigations and bring to justice without fear or favour,
affection or ill will those who engage in corruption and dishonesty in the
course of or associated with the carrying out of policing functions and
adequately resourcing and funding such authority;
4.16 Providing
for a system for the recruitment of officers for such designated authority who
are of high integrity and that ensures
that such officers are not disadvantaged by recruitment to any such designated
authority;
4.17 Providing adequate safeguards to prevent abuse of powers by those engaged in the anti-corruption system and to minimize unnecessary infringements of individual rights;
Review, reporting and
research
4.18 Requiring public reporting at
least once each year of the work and findings in relation to the monitoring of
the systems and measures referred to in Article 4.14 and their adequacy,
application and effectiveness;
4.19 On-going research in relation
to current best practice for the prevention, detection, punishment and
eradication of corruption in and in connection with the performance of policing
functions;
4.20 Reviewing at appropriate and
regular intervals the measures and systems or the prevention, detection,
punishment and eradication of corruption in and in connection with the
performance of policing functions;
General
4.21 Making corruption by a police
officer or other employee of a police force/service a serious criminal offence;
4.22 Having legislation enacted to
allow the proceeds of corruption and related crimes to be forfeited;
4.23 Bringing into being or causing to be brought
into being such legislative, administrative and other measures as may be
necessary to prevent, detect, punish and eradicate corruption in the police
forces/services;
4.24 Taking
all practicable steps to ensure that the rates of remuneration for police
officers and other employees of the police forces/services are such as to
enable them and their families to maintain a reasonable standard of living
without having to resort to other employment or to corruption;
General Assembly
4.25 Reporting at least once each
two years, or at such shorter intervals as the General Assembly may resolve, on
the measures taken and the mechanisms and systems in place to implement the
standards set out in this protocol and the effectiveness of such mechanisms, systems
and measures;
4.26 Permitting
the monitoring by, and co-operating with, such person or persons as may be
appointed by the Secretary General for the purpose of monitoring the
mechanisms, systems and measures in place in relation to its police
forces/services to achieve the objective and meet the standards referred to in
this protocol and the effectiveness of such mechanisms, systems and measures.
Article 5
Review
The operation of this protocol shall be reviewed
by the General Secretariat of Interpol on an ongoing basis and shall be the
subject of a report to each session of the General Assembly that is held after
the expiration of two years from the adoption of this protocol.