conducting disciplinary proceedings with respect to police abuse.106 The Committee has recommended
States to clarify the organizational structure and chain of command within the security forces,
considering the overlapping responsibilities and uncertainty over officers and subsequent accountability
drawbacks.107 The Committee has also noted that there should not be an institutional or hierarchical
relationship between the investigative body and suspected perpetrators of such acts.108
43. The Committee in its concluding observations has consistently expressed concerns regarding
excessive use of force motivated by discrimination, including racist and xenophobic violence, especially
against refugees, migrants and members of the Roma community109, persons of African descent110,
LGBTI persons111, police brutality against members of indigenous peoples, e.g. Mapuche people in
Chile112, ill-treatment by police based on racial profiling and allegations of excessive use of force and
other police abuse, in particular against persons belonging to certain racial and ethnic groups113.
44. The Committee has not yet addressed the role of new technologies in relation to extra-custodial
settings114, while they can play an important role in preventing the use, and the illegitimate use of
force. The installation of body cameras (bodycams) has shown positive effects in several countries and
progressively been required by law. Research has detected the rationale that “videos don’t lie” enabled
through bodycams increases police legitimacy. Further, they generate a higher self-surveillance on the
part of police officers and strengthen the reliability of testimony and evidence to protect both suspects
and state agents. Bodycams have also been positively evaluated by minorities generally targeted by
racial profiling, generating a feeling of greater confidence in law enforcement.115 In addition, in-car
cameras have also become an important tool for documenting police activities, providing credible
evidence and preventing abuse. Another useful device are GPS trackers on police cars, patrol cars and
prisoner transport wagons, which help keep track of movement, hinder transport-based torture and illtreatment methods and support the investigation of abuses.
106. S
witzerland, 2015, CAT/C/CHE/CO/7.
107. B
urundi, 2016, CAT/C/BDI/CO/2/Add.1.
108. C
olombia, 2015, CAT/C/COL/CO/5.
109. G
reece, 2019, CAT/C/GRC/CO/7, para 41.
110. B
ulgaria, 2020, CAT/C/BGR/QPR/7; Argentina, 2017, CAT/C/ARG/CO/5-6.
111. A
rgentina, 2017, CAT/C/ARG/CO/5-6; Peru, 2018, CAT/C/PER/CO/7.
112. C
hile, 2018, CAT/C/CHL/CO/6, para. 22.
113. T
he Netherlands, 2018, CAT/C/NLD/CO/7, para. 44; Portugal, 2019, CAT/C/PRT/CO/7, para. 17; North Macedonia, 2015,
CAT/C/MKD/CO/3; Slovakia, 2015, CAT/C/SVK/CO/3; Greece, 2019, CAT/C/GRC/CO/7.
114. T
he Committee has recommended that States adopt policies in this regard, including legislative reform in criminal law to provide for
mandatory video recording of interrogations and strengthen efforts as well as to equip all places of deprivation of liberty with video
recording devices, see: Ukraine,2014, CAT/C/UKR/CO/6; Burundi, 2016, CAT/C/BDI/CO/2/Add.1.
115. G
raham, Videos Don’t Lie: African Americans’ Support for Body-Worn Cameras, Criminal Justice Review, Volume 44, issue 32 May 2019.
16
Select target paragraph3
Connect to a paragraph
Connect to an entity
Disable highlights
Add to table of contents