Thank you to Md Nurul Huda for his glowing commendation of the British 'Bobby', although I am not sure that all British people, especially those in the cities, would recognize in the British policeman of today some of the traits he commends. But I am from that British generation that still sees the policeman as a friend and protector so much so, that, when I see one, even today, my hand goes up in an automatic wave. I have had some startled looks from policemen here!
One thing that Bangladeshi policeman could surely do as part of their current “Get Friendly with the Public campaign” is surely to get into the schools and teach the kids how to cross the road! (I guess it is not so relevant here as it is in the UK for the police to teach pupils how to pass their Bicycle Proficiency Test - so they can ride to school on their bicycles but even that would not be a bad idea for some of them.). The fact that no one here seems to have taught the children of towns and cities The Highway Code for the last 40 odd years has produced a generation of adults with assumptions concerning crossing roads that must surely have contributed mightily to the death rate among pedestrians.
I wonder how many of us who go round in cars have noticed the increasingly bizarre behaviour of pedestrians? They do not hurry across, as I do when I am a pedestrian, watching the oncoming traffic and carefully trying to avoid it, but stroll slowly across the road, refusing to look anywhere except straight ahead, waving a lordly hand in our direction and defying us to run them over which, unworthy thought as it is, we may feel sorely tempted to do! I think the modern expression for such behaviour is 'jay-walking'. I find my natural tendency to love my fellow man and make excuses for him is sorely tested...
I have a distant memory of lessons in my school playground and little feet lined up along a drawn line and little voices chanting “At the kerb, HALT! Look RIGHT. Look LEFT. Look RIGHT again and walk quickly across.” (I do not know what the updated version is……) Would it not have a similar impact on the Bangladeshi primary school children of today to be taught this lesson by a visiting policeman? Would it not also make for good community relations to encourage the children to ask him or her questions about police work?
To avoid having to wait 30 years for this to have a real impact, maybe the lesson could be given just before they go home and then include whoever turned up to collect them at the end of the school day parents, maidservants and drivers who could be made to join in with what could be presented as a fun activity. Then the little dears would be told to go home and practice it and teach it to the rest of the family and the neighbours. Great!