52 Resource book on the use of force and firearms in law enforcement CHAPTER KEY MESSAGES • Governments and law enforcement agencies bear responsibility for creating the conditions under which law enforcement officials can operate professionally, including setting up effective command and control mechanisms, and developing adequate SOPs and instructions. • Effective management within law enforcement agencies will feature a chain of command that facilitates upward and downward communication, and coordination of operations among multiple units. – Senior management should provide strategic guidance. – Middle management bears responsibility for managing concrete operations and accounting for accuracy, reliability and quality of briefings, orders and instructions. – Lower management directly supervises officers, deciding how to respond and diffuse tension. • Anyone in a supervisory role bears responsibility for the conduct of his or her staff, and he or she should hold those who report to them accountable for their actions and decisions. • Orders and instructions passed through the line of command have to be lawful and mechanisms and procedures should be in place to object to manifestly unlawful orders and instructions. Following manifestly unlawful orders does not exempt a law enforcement officer from criminal and other forms of liability for unlawful actions. • When a supervisor gives an order, the subordinate is personally responsible for how they execute the order. However, responsibility for the substance and lawfulness of an order lies with the person giving the orders. • Laws and regulations should not provide for an absolute duty of obedience. The law should also specify that law enforcement officials are entitled and, under certain circumstances, even obliged to refuse to comply with manifestly unlawful orders, and that refusal to follow such order shall not result in disciplinary or criminal repercussions. • Employment or involvement of human rights advisers within an agency can help assist commanders and rank-and-file officers to comply with human rights norms and standards. • Appropriate planning should be at the heart of any law enforcement action or operation. A human rights-based approach to law enforcement should incorporate human rights considerations at the planning stage. All possible human rights issues should be identified and mitigation of any associated risks must be considered. Orders and briefings should include these human rights issues, and clear directives should be issued on how human rights should be protected in the specific situation. • Management should instil a culture of respect for human rights and the dignity of every person, sending a clear message that abuse will not be tolerated, including proper working conditions for law enforcement officers.