There are still many district police chiefs (OCPD) who lack knowledge about human rights, said Inspector-General of Police Mohd Bakri Omar today.

They give the impression that the police force as a whole violates these rights, he added.

According to him, a police officer, especially district chiefs, must know and abide by the international standards concerning human rights.

"As police officers, we must execute our duties professionally and not take provocative actions when faced with situations like receiving complaints, arresting and interrogating suspects," he was quoted as saying by Bernama .

Mohd Bakri was speaking at a seminar for district police chiefs in Kuala Lumpur.

Apart from human rights, proper and professional work management was also an important criteria in the list of duties for district police chiefs.

"Practice a moderation in carrying out your duties. Not to be soft but strict in enforcing the law," he told the participants.

Intense fire

The police have come under intense fire from critics concerning allegations of brutality and abuse of power.

The high number of custodial deaths had also drawn flak from human rights groups, which have also accused the police force of being trigger happy.

Last year, Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi instructed for a Royal Commission to be set up to probe the complaints and provide recommendations on how to improve the police force.

One of the 125 recommendations called for the launching of a human rights education and information initiative.

The commission also called for the setting-up of an Independent Police Misconduct and Complaints Commission (IPCMC) but this has yet to materialise.

Recently, there was a renewed call to set-up the IPCMC after the nude squat scandal, where a clip of a woman police detainee being forced to do ear squats in the nude, was exposed.

Following this, the premier ordered for the IPCMC to be set-up but this met stiff resistance from the police and other quarters, including Umno Youth .