In developing countries, poverty and insecurity are linked. This means that institutions responsible for safety and justice have an important role in poverty reduction. Some donors provide aid to reform security and justice sectors. What lessons can be learned from their experience?

A paper from the Vera Institute for Justice, US, reviews existing aid programmes, focusing particularly on UK-funded policing and justice projects. Work in this area embraces a range of target institutions including police, courts, prisons and the military. While some programmes work directly with these institutions, others focus more on legislative frameworks and democratic policies and principles.

Advancing the justice concerns of poor and vulnerable people is a difficult task in any country. The UK government’s assistance is committed to holistic strategies that work across whole sectors. They also recognise that the involvement and ownership of reforms by recipient governments is crucial for success.

The challenges vary from context to context. While, countries where there is conflict or where conflict has recently ended present many obstacles, in relatively stable countries too, governments have to deal with organised violence and unrest. 

• In Jamaica gang violence, drug trade and urban crime has undermined social and economic development, and the police are often seen as part of the problem: assistance here has focused on a national strategy for security, and support for police reform and the development of community policing.
• In many parts of Nigeria communal violence is part of everyday life and trust in the police service is almost non-existent: conflict prevention and working with both informal and formal policing structures and traditional justice mechanisms is the main strategy to overcome this.
• In Nepal, a decade of conflict has left certain parts of the country inaccessible to government, and a low level of government legitimacy. Increasing the access of poor rural people to justice systems is a high priority: a community mediation project has trained community representatives and women leaders on human rights, mediation skills and legal issues.
• In Afghanistan, the lack of a strong state with a monopoly of force has been both cause and consequence of conflict. There is little understanding of the role of police in a democratic society: a range of initiatives, including developing a training curriculum and managing police training centres, aims to transform this situation.

There are useful lessons for those involved in delivering international aid to justice and security sectors, and those who are engaged in domestic reforms:

• All security and justice sector projects should aim for short-term progress on community safety in ways that also support long-term organisational development in the sector.
• Institutional indicators are needed to show progress. These need to be appealing and useful to local governments to make clear the links between security, access to justice and poverty reduction.
• Police and military advisors should develop more trusting and collaborative relationships. This would encourage the same in the institutions of partner governments.

Source(s):
‘Supporting Security, Justice and Development: Lessons for a New Era’, Vera Institute of Justice: New York, by Christopher Stone, Joel Miller, Monica Thornton and Jennifer Trone, June 2005 (PDF) Full document.

Funded by: UK Department for International Development and Foreign and Commonwealth Office

id21 Research Highlight: 27 April 2007

Further Information:
Monica Thornton
Vera Institute of Justice
233 Broadway 12th Floor
New York, NY 10279
USA

Tel: +1 212 376 3091
Fax: +1 212 941 9407
Contact the contributor: mthornton@vera.org

Vera Institute of Justice

Other related links:
'Making military and security forces in West Africa accountable'

'Democracy rules? Subduing armed forces in Africa'

Eldis - Conflict and Security Resource Guide

DFID - Understanding and Supporting Security Sector Reform [PDF]

Centre for Security Sector Management at Cranfield University

The Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces (DCAF)

Global Facilitation Network for Security Sector Reform