Human security
Safety, security and accessible justice: putting policy into practice
Providing guidance for putting safety, security and accessible justice policy into practice
Authors:
; DFID
Publisher:
Department for International Development, UK, 2002
The aim of these guidelines is to assist development staff in putting safety, security and accessible justice (SSAJ), policy into practice.
As the guidelines highlight there are a number of reasons why safety, security and accessible justice matter to poor people, including:
- poor people and vulnerable groups suffer disproportionately from crime – eg the impact of theft is more severe if the victim is poor
- poor people are less likely to invest in improving their own futures if they feel insecure
- poor people’s efforts to get out of poverty are hampered by corrupt police and judicial officers
- insecurity can prevent poor people from accessing Government services
- poor safety and security incline citizens to form self-help policing initiatives that can grow into vigilantism, and generally reduce respect for the law
- lack of access to justice fosters corruption.
The guidelines also highlight why SSAJ matters for governance and development:
- because the provision of law and order is a core government responsibility and is part of the necessary framework for economic and social development
- the rule of law is correlated with economic growth and investment. An effective justice sector promotes better livelihoods for poor people
- the rule of law is necessary for the protection and promotion of economic and social as well as civil and political rights.
