The murder of Kugan Ananthan clearly illustrates that policing in this country must change once and for all. There have been too many cases of police misconduct and abuse where internal investigations have failed to bring the perpetrators to justice.

A frequent police response to inquiries about the investigation of a complaint of police abuse, particularly when there is little media coverage or overt public interest in the case in question, is that police investigators were satisfied that "procedures were followed correctly". If they are ever charged or convicted for a criminal offence, it is usually junior officers who are punished.

What we need is a thorough change in how the police conduct arrests, interrogations and detentions. Only through this can there be an effective deterrent against police misconduct and abuse.

At the moment there is a relatively low level of awareness of rights among many detainees, which is a key safeguard against ill-treatment and torture by the police. The laws procedures and Inspector General’s Standing Orders must be reviewed to ensure that detainees in police custody are informed of and can exercise their rights.

This includes the right to contact a legal representative promptly after arrest, to contact their family and access to medical services if so required.

They also should have the right to be promptly (within 24 hours) brought before a magistrate and fully informed about the nature of the remand proceedings and to inform the magistrate of any complaints about their treatment whilst in police custody. These rights should be made available to the public and disseminated widely.

Continued efforts should be made and regular inspections conducted to ensure that police lockups and other detention facilities are of a standard required in the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners. When police custodial facilities fall short of these standards, necessary steps should immediately be taken to improve them.

Unhindered access to facilities must be given to Suhakam and other independent human rights agencies and the Bar Council. This can significantly contribute to the prevention of human rights violations such as torture and ill treatment, and can also help safeguard the police against false allegations of human rights violations.

It also provides a framework for co-operation between the authorities, independent experts, civil society groups and others to work together towards ensuring that international standards are met.

Finally, in order to hold the police accountable, there must be effective internal accountability and external oversight mechanisms. All allegations of human rights violations or misconduct by police officers must be received without impediment and immediately investigated and prompt status reports on the progress of investigations of complaints must be provided.

Disciplinary or criminal proceedings must be undertaken where allegations of human rights abuses prove to be well founded.

It is also about time that the government keeps its promise and sets up an external investigation mechanism dealing specifically with complaints involving the police. This body must be operationally independent of the government, political influence and the police.

It must be empowered to receive complaints and depending on the nature and seriousness of the complaint, to chose whether to supervise or to manage investigations conducted by police investigation officers, or to carry out investigations using its own independent investigators. It must be accountable to Parliament and be required to report publicly on its activities.

If the government is truly serious about combating police misconduct and abuse, it must take steps to ensure that police operations respect the rights of those arrested and detained and the necessary safeguards exist to prevent these abuses.

If this is not done, it is guaranteed that we will continue to hear of more cases of police abuse in the future.