Editorial Comment: Officers of the law should be exemplary

THERE seems to be an increase in cases of errant law enforcement officers disregarding the laws of the land.

They have been a law unto themselves for a long time, committing a series of violent crimes.

A lot of them have been on the loose for quite some time, and it seems they are being shielded by their colleagues.

This must come to an end, as this sends a wrong message that they are above the law.

The problem now has to be addressed to restore public confidence in our country’s law enforcement agencies.

It’s unacceptable for a police officer to drive without a driver’s licence.

Of all people, the police need to be at the forefront of observing the country’s laws, because when they disregard them, they set a precedent that then becomes difficult to manage.

Rampant disregard of road traffic rules by motorists is as a result of serving police officers behaving badly.

An unlicensed policeman was arrested for injuring two pedestrians in the city centre on Wednesday.

The officer was off duty, but he was driving a kombi in police uniform.

That is soiling the force’s image, to commit crime in uniform.

He was arrested for driving without a licence as well as negligent driving, and if only he could be made an example.

The law must deal harshly with him for deliberately breaking the law by abusing his privilege as a cop to drive without a licence.

His case should be a warning to other law enforcement agents that abuse of office will not be tolerated.

Who will enforce the law when its custodians are the very people breaking it?

It must be embarrassing to police commanders to see their officers being such bad examples of the image of the force.

We expect our police officers to lead by example, and all bad apples must have no place in the force.

Police officers who break the law must be dealt with harshly just as a reminder that no one is above the law.

The laws of the land should be respected by all people all the time.

There should be no sacred cows when it comes to the application of the laws of the land.

In a nutshell, law enforcement agents should lead by example and they must display the highest standard for them to qualify to enforce our laws.