ABSTRACT
The police are simultaneously agents of human rights and prime actors in the violation of human rights. The coercive power vested in police to protect and bring to justice, however, also provides the means by which police become violators of rights. Police are vital in shaping people’s experience of law. Police are the law on the street using their discretion in ways that uphold or undermine human rights. The increased exposure and discussion of widespread police violence, brutality, misconduct, and systemic racism alongside the rise of radical politics tied to social justice ideals, led to growing recognition amongst those in positions of influence of the substantial gap between the rhetoric and the reality of policing. The realization of policing as a human rights consistent endeavour is founded on the ideal of non-discriminatory implementation of laws consistent with human rights principles.
