Although not directly related to my case, the police are, nonetheless, part of the injustice system – predominantly injustice towards them.
There are those who have no respect for the police, and no understanding for the fact that everyday they put their lives on the line to save you and me.
The police fight for right and take risks to catch criminals. They get the offenders to court, then the injustice system kicks in. Bail magistrates release the offenders out on bail to do the same thing again. Judges give lenient sentences that outrage many, including by “community correction orders” and the like where the offenders stay on the streets. Fine if they learn, but how many times do they take the whole thing as a joke and go straight out and commit the same crime? Way too often. they seem to learn that crime actual does pay. And even if jail sentences are actually applied (generally light ones, of course), later down the track, the parole officers often swing in to let dangerous criminals back on the streets as soon as possible.
The Government response to failures of the injustice system sometimes seems to be provision of funds for more police. It’s great they do that, but it seems that we’d need a few less police if they weren’t having to spend their time chasing people who have already come before the injustice system and shouldn’t even be back on the streets. The government also spends money on working to change the mindset of offenders. Again, that’s laudable. Of course we should try to help people change their ways, but if they don’t respond, don’t trust them.
How frustrating it must be for the police to have worked so hard and diligently, and then to have such light sentences, if the offenders are sentenced at all. How different it would be if the courts enforced the law and took action to stop the perpetrators.
Aside from all the above, when someone comes at the police with a weapon, be it a gun or a knife, and the police protect themselves the best they can, there is an uproar. What are the police supposed to do? Are they supposed to let themselves be hurt or killed to protect the party trying to harm them? Really?
Then we have the situations where idiots are trying to escape the police in a car chase and someone gets hurt or killed and people again blame the police. Again, what are they supposed to do – let the person get away and kill someone by speeding anyway? Anecdotal evidence suggests that the criminals very quickly learned that if they deliberately put members of the public in danger by crossing double lines in spite of oncoming vehicles, or speeding excessively, the chase would be called off. So the laws meant to protect citizens became the law to put them in danger. Why are the police at fault when someone gets hurt? Why is it that the person who refused to stop and who caused the problem is not deemed by many to be at fault? We really need to take a good look at fault and make sure that the right person is declared guilty – and it is not those who are trying to uphold the law and protect us.
Be grateful to the police, and don’t go casting stones unnecessarily.
How about we actually help the police by changing the injustice system?