The European committee for the prevention of torture and its work with the police

Abstract

Police forces in European countries face more and more diverse challenges in their work, including fighting ordinary crime, organized crime, human trafficking, terrorism, and other problem areas. In another vain, they encounter protest movements, demonstrations, and sometimes violent action, which need to be managed. At the same time, in many countries, high expectations in the population about proper conduct and responsible action by police officers prevail, notably respect for human rights. Therefore, transparency, accountability, and action against illegal action by police officers is paramount for creating and strengthening trust in a police force, and a state, respectful of the rule of law. The European Committee on the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment (CPT) of the Council of Europe visits for 28 years, among other institutions, establishments of Ministries of the Interior. The contribution offers a brief overview on legal standards and working methods used by the CPT. It looks at issues of CPT’s practical work regarding the police. Another section tentatively addresses the impact of the Committee’s work, a particular challenging issue since there exists very little of what could be called an evaluation of the impact of its work on the European or national level. A concluding section brings together some key issues. Police forces in European countries are facing clearly increasing and more and more diverse challenges in their work, including fighting ordinary crime, organized crime, human trafficking, terrorism, and other problem areas. In another vain, there are protest movements, demonstrations, and sometimes violent action, which need to be managed. At the same time, in many countries, high expectations in the population about proper conduct and responsible action by police officers prevail. Therefore, transparency, accountability, and action against illegal action by police officers is paramount for creating and strengthening trust in a police force, and a state, respectful of the rule of law. The contribution starts with brief remarks about the origin of the European Committee on the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment (CPT), the legal standards used by the Committee, and its working methods. The next section looks at issues of practical work of the CPT regarding the police, which is based on publicly accessible materials. It is pertinent here to recall that the cooperation of the CPT with member states of the Council of Europe takes place under the rule of confidentiality; only the visit reports, the annual General Report, and a number of working papers have been published apart from the CPT standards. 1 In Sect. 14.3, I respond to an invitation by editors to address the impact of the Committee’s work, a particular challenging issue since to my knowledge there has been very little of what can be called a review or an evaluation of the impact of its work on the European level or a national level. A concluding section brings together some key issues.