An internal motion to amend the Regulations on House Visits by Police Within Their Precinct (警察勤務區家戶訪查辦法) was passed earlier this month, clearing the way for abolishing house visits by police, a remnant of the nation’s authoritarian past.
The motion was passed due to concerns over human rights violations after police in New Taipei City’s Sindian District (新店) made a “house call” on the family of a person who joined protests against amendments to the Labor Standards Act (勞動基準法) in October 2016, the Ministry of the Interior said.
The amendment needs to be approved by the Legislative Yuan before it can take effect.
House calls, which are reminiscent of the former Taiwan Garrison Command’s actions, should not occur in Taiwan, which has successfully transitioned to democracy, Minister of the Interior Yeh Jiunn-rong (葉俊榮) said.
“The National Police Agency was instructed to look into drafting amendments following the incident,” Yeh said.
The government strives to meet public expectations for reforms that would respect the privacy of individuals, Yeh said, adding that police should endeavor to prevent crime and serve the public, instead of trying to control people and interfering with their freedom.
As times change, so too must police, Yeh said, thanking the agency for proposing an amendment that would further ensure public safety while respecting human rights.
The regulations would be renamed “regulations on police precinct visits and investigations” following the amendments, which would also make broad changes to the regulations while greatly restricting the police’s authority, the ministry said.
Police would no longer be allowed to search residences as part of “house visits,” and any investigation must be based on facts and respect the rights of those involved, it said, adding that it would do its best to keep police on the straight and narrow when on duty.
The amendments reference the Administrative Procedure Act (行政程序法) and the Civil Service Administrative Neutrality Act (公務人員行政中立法), stating that police officers cannot widen the scope of the original visit and investigation, and police officers cannot discriminate against individuals without justifiable cause.
Abolishing “house visits” was long overdue, the agency said, adding that many of their original functions have already been filled by other methods.
In 2000 rules requiring physical household registration checks were abolished, but visits continued for the purpose of ensuring neighborhood safety and police only stopped checking registrations in 2007, it said, adding that the amendment would do away with the possibility of household visits entirely.
Urban population and household registration records are digitized and comprehensive, making the practice obsolete, the agency said.
The regulations’ functions, such as crime deterrence and providing services to people, have been taken over by community services, it added.
However, while the amendments would remove household visits, regulations passed in March 2016 mandate that police continue to actively investigate and visit individuals that could pose a threat to public order, as well as perpetrators of domestic abuse and rapists.
The amendments have been welcomed by police officers who said that the outdated function should have been abolished earlier.
However, some senior officers said that while the abolition of house visits was inevitable, they allowed police to assess more accurately how safe their precinct was.
The ministry said it hopes to increase the presence of police in society by encouraging officers to come up with new methods to prevent crime, but added that such methods should be based on the premise of heightened police awareness of human rights and other legal safeguards.
Additional reporting by Wang Kuan-jen
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