A roll-back of rights? PSNI, human rights and democratic policing

As we move towards the Police Service of Northern Ireland’s (PSNI) twenty year anniversary, the issue of human rights compliance has seldom fallen out of the public or political gaze in the jurisdiction. While much of the current focus has centred upon Article 2 of the ECHR and unresolved legacy matters, it would be incorrect to assume that in 2021 human rights and policing are simply a ‘job done’. With the Patten Report in 1999 centred on the protection and vindication of human rights for all, the recommendations were clear that not only are human rights vital for achieving effective policing, but that improper use of police powers to can lead to a break-down in community relations, making the delivery of ‘normal’ policing impossible.