Timely reminder to the police

We take note of two comments made by the president and the prime minister in their address marking the inauguration of Police Week-2018. One is that the police should serve the people without harassment and the other is that the police must be accountable for their actions.

It is unfortunate that because of past events, people nowadays are afraid to seek help from the police fearing harassment, intimidation, etc. This does not bode well for the state of law and order in the country. Therefore, as the president said, the police must now put in extra effort to regain the trust of the people that they are there to serve, as it is a constitutional right of the people to get police service.

In regard to the second point, it must be remembered that accountability is very much a function of both the government and the police. So, as much as police high-ups must be held accountable for the actions of their subordinates, the government too must take responsibility when it comes to monitoring the activity of law enforcers, while granting the police the autonomy that it requires to serve the people.

At the same time, we also acknowledge that most in the police are honest men and women who work tirelessly for the people. And that sometimes a few bad apples from within the force and their misdeeds overshadow their good work, which is why the police must take corrective measures and stringent actions against those within its ranks that commit any form of crimes.