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"Originality is the fine art of remembering what you hear,
but forgetting where you heard it."
-Laurence J. Peter
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"Read not to contradict and confute,
nor to believe and take for granted, nor to find talk and discourse, but to weigh and consider."
-Francis Bacon
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Sometimes I have the feeling that the police and the judicial system in many countries forget one of their
first and foremost duties: protecting innocent citizens. Youīd think that a police department that has chosen
a motto like "To protect and to serve" would understand that duty. And that a judge, chosen from the ranks of
district attorneys or public prosecutors, would have caught the vision. But no, unfortunately this is not always
the case. (Okay, I decided to use an understatement there. But you know what I mean, donīt you?)
I love examples. So here are some striking examples from real life. Read them and weep:
An elderly gentleman is stopped by policemen for having made a traffic violation. The gentleman is indignant.
He thinks the reason for stopping him is so trivial that itīs not even worth talking about. When he voices that
opinion, the policemen get annoyed with him and reply in harsh words. After an exchange of even more angry words,
the driver decides he has had enough and does something foolish: he suddenly puts his car into gear and drives off.
One of the policemen does not accept that, draws his gun and shoots. He hits the driver in the head. The man is
instantly killed, to the horror of his daughter, who is sitting next to him. When the daughter files charges
against the policeman, the shooter is convicted, but with such a light sentence that itīs hardly more than a
slap on the wrist. So where did this take place? Russia? Mexico? South-America? Africa? No - Western Europe! Have
people in this example completely forgotten what having a police and a judicial system is all about? Why
do we enforce traffic rules and laws? To protect those who take part in that traffic, surely? Not to shoot
them in the head!
Another example from the same area. Dutch newspapers proudly announce that judges in the Netherlands have become
tougher. Instead of giving murderers an average of nine years jail time a person, the average has risen to no
less than eleven years! Wow - Iīm impressed! So when a murderer is convicted, the general public can breathe easy
and feel safe for eleven years. Only after that this person, who obviously has no high regard for human life, is
set free again. Or should I say: Set at the innocent citizens again.
In Turkey, the judicial system and politics also know how to make a mess of things. A Turkish man who had been
convicted for the murder of one tourist, and the rape and attempted murder of two others, was sentenced to 136
years in jail. Nice result, you might think. Gets him off the street indefinitely. But wait - thatīs not
the end of the story. Because judges reduce his sentence to life, deduct weekends and holidays, and end up giving
him only a few dozen years to serve in prison. And then the politicians come along, declare an amnesty for
prisoners and set him free after having served only seven years in prison! So much for protecting the public.
In many countries judges and attorneys have become very good in considering the suspectīs needs, protecting his
human rights and his privacy. But does no one ever think of the needs and human rights of victims and potential
victims anymore? In some countries pedophiles and rapists are put in "open" prisons - where they get weekend
leave, test leave, etc. A shocking percentage of them repeats the offence on such occasions. And some never
return to serve the rest of their time in prison or in the mental institution they had been remanded to. Social
workers, psychiatrists and other "experts" have the audacity to speak of a great percentage of success. But who
thinks of the new victims and future victims of these relapsing, sick criminals?
In America a celebrity (letīs not mention any names, but he was a very famous, very tall African American...)
was tried for murdering his wife. Despite overwhelming evidence, he was acquitted. It took a civil lawsuit to
get at least some degree of justice by cleaning him out financially. Poor result, when you think about it.
In the Netherlands, a famous singer and a famous football (soccer, for those readers who are Americans) player
each kill innocent victims in accidents that are clearly their fault (drunk driving and speeding). Both get off
with ridiculous, meaningless sentences - one of them hears from the judge he has to put in only 240 hours of
service to the community. What is the value of a life here? 240 hours of someoneīs time? It was definitely worth
a lot more to the husband and children this woman left behind!
So I again put it to you that the police and the judicial system in many countries may very well have forgetten
their extremely important duty: protecting innocent citizens. Letīs not accept that!
Other column subjects: Click here!
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Disclaimer
This column is only for the purpose of entertaining, educating or
giving food for thought. Any persons, characters, countries, institutions or groups
mentioned are - as a matter of principle - fictional: any resemblance to existing ones is
purely by chance. ;-)
If the content of this column offends anyone, please accept the
columnist's apologies: no offense was intended.
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column noun
1a: a vertical arrangement of items on a page
b: a vertical section of a printed page
c: an accumulation arranged vertically
d: a department or feature (as of humor, sports,
literary reviewing, or gossip) in a newspaper or periodical, under a permanent
title and generally reflecting the writer's individual tastes and point of view.
2: a supporting pillar
3: a form, structure, or formation shaped like a column
(Webster's Dictionary.)
Relevant reads:
Justice: Crimes, Trials, and Punishments
The Criminal Law Handbook: Know Your Rights, Survive the System
What Do You Know about Penal Law
Vincent Bugliosi - Outrage: The Five Reasons Why O.J. Simpson Got Away With Murder
Judicial System
Our Enemies in Blue: A History of Police Violence in the United States
Future of Policing
Obsession: The FBI's Legendary Profiler Probes the Psyches of Killers, Rapists, and Stalkers and Their Victims and
Tells how to Fight Back!
Shouting Fire: Civil Liberties in a Turbulent Age
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