Holding back the police

It is inevitable that any police force will make mistakes, sometimes even mistakes with fatal consequences, that must then be judged by the justice system. The aim, though, should be for the force to have what might be called a “systemic memory,” a mechanism that analyzes the mistakes made with the requisite sangfroid and ensures that it does not happen again.

This is an effort that is undermined every time someone treats the security services like an opposition tool and its officers like the enemy. Such fanaticism – and the attacks on police than come with it – is not just outdated and out of step with reality; it holds the police back and prevents the force from becoming better.