Criminal Justice
The criminal justice system is the system of law enforcement used for all stages of criminal proceedings and punishment. It includes the police, lawyers, courts and corrections (prisons, parole, rehabilitations etc.)
PFC has a particular interest in various stages of the criminal justice system, including:
- The role of the police in enforcing public order through the use of CS gas, tasers and plastic bullets and the inherent dangers involved;
- Parading- in the past PFC has acted as human rights observers at many marches, parades and demonstrations;
- Prison conditions- high levels of self-harm and suicides, the use of strip searching etc;
- The revocation of licenses of some prisoners on the basis of “secret evidence” that cannot be fairly challenged in an open court. PFC has intervened in a number of these cases with the department of justice, secretaries of states, elected representatives and other relevant bodies;
From time to time the PFC is asked to monitor criminal trials. Unfortunately we do not have the capacity to offer this service.