Fair play for policemen

Sir,

May I, through you, address a brief comment to your readers, all of whom no doubt consider themselves sportsmen in the true sense of the word.

I persistently read adverse comment concerning the Police as a body because an individual reader has transgressed, albeit technically, and as a result has fallen foul of an individual policeman.

This is a very one-sided state of affairs; your readers have the “freedom of the Press,” whereas all policemen are forbidden by regulation from any form of public address. Any policeman who fails to report an offence is liable to be reported himself for neglect of duty. This aspect weighs more with some than others but who are you to condemn members of the Police Service for doing as they are expressly directed by Statutes enacted by your own elected representatives.

Please, before stabbing any more policemen in the back with your pen, consider his side of the problem. He is denied the opportunity of defending his actions and is expected to be perpetually loyal, chivalrous, polite, understanding, helpful, blind in one eye and silent—rather a tall order for a perfectly ordinary family man!

“Transgressor.”
[Name and address supplied.—Ed.]