COMMENT: Guidelines can’t regulate the police and military’s use of lethal force and will, in the end, be subordinate to bad legislation.
On April 10, Collins Khosa was allegedly assaulted by members of the South African National Defence Force and the Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department. Khosa died as a result of what appears to have been grossly overzealous enforcement of the Covid-19 state of national disaster regulations.
The thuggery of far too many members of the security forces aside, a human rights-compliant approach to the use of force is notoriously difficult to implement, even for the most ethical of officers. In split seconds, law enforcement officers need to make complex judgments on the need and proportionality of the force to use.
Unfortunately, this is not the case. Domestic legislation dealing with the use of force by law enforcement officials is dispersed across several pieces of legislation including the South African Police Services Act, the Criminal Procedure Act, the Regulations of Gatherings Act and the Correctional Services Act.
Section 49 of the Criminal Procedure Act falls short of relevant international law. In particular, it fails to state the circumstances that would justify the use of lethal force. The current construction of section 49 also allows the use of potentially lethal force simply because there is a suspicion of the commission of a crime involving the infliction of, or the threatened infliction of serious bodily harm at some time in the past.
These shortcomings cannot be fixed by guidelines ordered in the Khosa decision, which, no matter how good, will end up being subordinate to bad law.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Police release guidelines for the use of force during lockdown - The Mail & GuardianThe guidelines follow a court order in the case of Collins Khosa, who died after an alleged assault by members of the army and the Johannesburg metro police
Read more »
SPONSORED: Knorr – Choose to Eat Better[Sponsored] Knorr_ZA, alongside Nielsen’s Plate of the Nation study, aims to help South Africans lead a healthier life by choosing to eat better. This can be as easy as making your meat dishes more nutritious. Click here to find out more: KnorrFlavour
Read more »
De Lille hastens IDT closure - The Mail & GuardianThe Independent Development Trust’s board and the department of public works and infrastructure have agreed to devise an exit plan, which will see the entity closed by early next year.
Read more »
Disaster vs separation of powers - The Mail & GuardianThe Democratic Alliance’s court case is about much more than an esoteric question of constitutional law
Read more »
Schools reopening terrifies me - The Mail & GuardianIt’s not just me who’s worried. Teachers unions are concerned about the capacity of schools to operate safely — and rightly so
Read more »
Call for applications for the position of GCRO executive director - The Mail & GuardianThe Gauteng City-Region Observatory is seeking to appoint a high-calibre researcher and manager to be the executive director and to lead it
Read more »