Workshop Report

This 2011 workshop report by the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) evaluates the ten-year implementation of the Southern African Regional Police Chiefs Cooperation Organisation (SARPCCO) Code of Conduct. The document details the challenges of institutionalising ethical policing standards across Southern Africa, presents monitoring indicators developed by the African Policing Civilian Oversight Forum (APCOF), and provides country-specific case studies on police reform and human rights compliance.

• The SARPCCO Code of Conduct, adopted in 2001, establishes a minimum set of ethical, rights-based, and professional policing standards for Southern African police forces, though its application has been hindered by a lack of available monitoring tools.
• To address monitoring gaps, APCOF developed indicators focused on institutional and activity levels—areas directly under police control—which include specific measures and means of verification such as legislation and statistics.
• Research by the ISS/SARPCCO Enhancing Regional Responses against Organised Crime (EROC) project (2008-2010) identified top organised crime activities in Southern Africa, including smuggling of goods, drugs, stolen vehicles, armed robberies, and human trafficking.
• The EROC project found that policing in the region is primarily reactive, suffers from limited intelligence sharing, lacks clear mandates for organised crime investigations, and is compromised by human rights abuses and corrupt behaviour.
• In South Africa, the South African Police Service (SAPS) faces a conflict between a populist 'war on crime' narrative and a human rights-based approach, with reports of deaths in police custody increasing from 792 in 2007/08 to 908 in 2009/10.
• Police forces in several countries, including Namibia, Lesotho, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, struggle with professionalism due to the recruitment of ex-combatants who lacked formal police training.
• In Zimbabwe, the police have been described as carrying out 'regime policing,' acting as a political instrument to harass civil society and arrest opposition members, particularly around the disputed 2008 election.
• Tanzania has implemented a Police Reform Programme (2006–2015) aiming for a community-centred force, achieving successes such as the integration of human rights into the Police Academy curriculum and the establishment of gender desks.
• Common regional challenges to implementing the Code of Conduct include militaristic police cultures, corruption, inadequate training (often only six months of basic training), and a lack of public awareness regarding the Code.
• The workshop concluded that the SARPCCO Code of Conduct should be integrated into the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation's strategic plan to promote good governance of police organisations regionally.

APA

Tait, S., Frank, C., Ndung’u, I., & Walker, T. (2011). Workshop Report. Institute for Security Studies. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/Mar2011SARPCCO_Code_Conduct,pdf.pdf

Chicago

Tait, Sean, Cheryl Frank, Irene Ndung’u, and Timothy Walker. Workshop Report. Institute for Security Studies, 2011. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/Mar2011SARPCCO_Code_Conduct,pdf.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Tait |first1=Sean |last2=Frank |first2=Cheryl |last3=Ndung’u |first3=Irene |last4=Walker |first4=Timothy |title=Workshop Report |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |date=2011 |url=https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/Mar2011SARPCCO_Code_Conduct,pdf.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{tait2011workshop, author = {Tait, Sean and Frank, Cheryl and Ndung’u, Irene and Walker, Timothy}, title = {{Workshop Report}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, year = {2011}, url = {https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/Mar2011SARPCCO_Code_Conduct,pdf.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }