PART IV.  POLICING SITUATIONS ABUSIVE USE OF FORCE DURING ARREST Some countries have provisions in their domestic law allowing for the use of lethal force to effectuate an arrest based on the crime the person is suspected to have committed or on the penalty for the suspected criminal offence, but regardless of the threat posed by the alleged offender. Also, in many countries it is allowed to use force to prevent someone escaping arrest, again regardless of the threat posed. Such provisions disregard the principles of necessity and proportionality and are thus in violation of international norms and standards. In most countries police can conduct an arrest at their own initiative only where they see the crime happening (i.e. in flagrante delicto) or when they have “reasonable suspicion” someone has committed or is about to commit a crime. In all other situations, law enforcement officials will need an arrest warrant, authorizing them to conduct the arrest, for which they will have to substantiate the necessity of the arrest. Those that have wilfully carried out an unlawful arrest, or have used excessive force during the arrest, should be held liable in the context of criminal or disciplinary proceedings, or both. For accountability purposes, it is considered good practice to ensure that officials conducting an arrest are clearly identifiable. For example, the Guidelines on the Conditions of Arrest, Police Custody and Pre-trial Detention in Africa (hereafter “the Luanda Guidelines”) recommend that officials conducting an arrest must “clearly identify themselves and the unit to which they belong by showing an official identity card which visibly displays their name, rank and identity number. Any vehicles used shall have clearly visible number plates and any other required or legally prescribed identity markers or numbers”.304 Taking precautions: preparing for an arrest In situations where the arrest is carried out with a warrant, there is generally time for the law enforcement officials involved to prepare for the arrest, and decrease the risk that force will be needed. The plan as to how to conduct the arrest must be based on the type of resistance that is expected. Questions to consider when planning an arrest include:305 • What are the charges against the arrestee/suspect? • What kind of person is the arrestee? • Is the person expected to resist the arrest? Might he or she be armed? • Has the person been arrested before? If so, how did the person react? • Have there been previous encounters between the person and law enforcement officials? • Have such encounters resulted in violent behaviour? • Are there associates of the person being arrested and could they cause problems? • What is the location where the person is to be arrested; could people in the neighbourhood be hostile? 304  See Guideline 3(b). Adopted during its fifty-fifth Ordinary Session held from 28 April to 12 May 2014 in Luanda, Angola: http://www.achpr.org/instruments/guidelines_arrest_detention. 305  Ibid., p. 158. 137