Police and community need to work together

EDITOR: Police and the public are very important. The move to install cameras in and around Kingstown is indeed a move in the right direction. Thus they must be complimented. These cameras, we hope, would help in monitoring illegal activity and traffic violations, just to name a few.

I do recognize this move will attract some discussion. There would be negative and positive comments. I however ask us all to give full support to this move and trust that it will help in discouraging criminal activity. However, we know that there would be those who would find ways to beat the system.

I have observed that there is an increase in police presence in terms of monitoring vehicles and the traffic. While we commend them for doing that, discretion must be exercised when issuing tickets. There are some instances when a simple warning, rebuke or some other means of dealing with the situation, may be required, rather than a ticket. Let us take, for example, a case where a vehicle may stop to pick up someone who is sick and it is raining and the vehicle then turns into the other lane in order to save time. That driver may have turned into the other lane, even though he should not have done so. While, the driver may be wrong and he and the sick person ask for pardon, the police officer turns a deaf ear and issued a ticket. In this case, a warning or an order for the vehicle go back into the lane and travel the regular route, would have been sufficient.

Police officers would not always be officers, thus it is important that good public relations be exercised. We know, however, when there is police brutality we are so quick to beat up on them, but when the officers are attacked, brutalised or/and abused by civilians most of us are quiet. Police officers are serving a good purpose and, with some exceptions, they are doing a wonderful job.

Let us build a good community relationship between civilians and police. Let us work together and also let me encourage the officers to do their job well, using discretion and be fair and honest.

Kennard King