In December of 2024, APCOF, Freedoms Collective Trust and the Caribbean Centre for Human Rights presented a paper titled “Decriminalising public space governance: the role of the police” at the First African Regional Conference on Law Enforcement and Public Health. The conference took place at the University of Pretoria, and sought to bring together police, public health practitioners, researchers and lawyers to discuss the critical intersection of policing, public health and human rights.
The policy paper underscores that the criminalisation of poverty and status effectively punishes, segregates, controls and undermines the dignity and inherent humanity of people based on their socio-economic status. Criminalisation further leads to a harmful cycle of unlawful arrests, prolonged detention, the inability to pay fines and police harassment, with women particularly impacted. The paper seeks to expand the socio-ecological model on crime prevention (through utilising a feminist capabilities approach) to reframe the current conceptualisation of public space governance.
Focusing on the global South, and specifically on Africa, South Asia and the Caribbean, the paper was first presented at a pre-conference meeting on Sunday the 1st of December with experts from Latin America, Africa, the Caribbean and South Asia in attendance. The participants discussed the common trends identified in the paper, as well as, good practices and potential alternatives to punitive policing approaches. The paper was then presented during the conference, allowing for wider dissemination, participation and feedback on the relevant themes and issues.