It must be borne in mind though that the police act under considerable strain and pressure when they stop criminals from committing offences or attempt to apprehend them and bring them to justice 

One may, however, make some comments and observations. To begin with, there is no excuse for excessive resort to force to apprehend people suspected of committing crimes. The proportional use of force is obviously the right principle to follow. What constitutes reasonable force is something that depends on the peculiar circumstances.

It must be borne in mind though that the police act under considerable strain and pressure when they stop criminals from committing offences or attempt to apprehend them and bring them to justice. They often put their lives on line in defense of our security and safety.

There must be a serious attempt to stop all duress to deal with perceived criminals; at the same time, it must be conceded that some police officers act on certain occasions as if they were in a pressure cooker, unable to control every circumstance or development when confronted with danger.

It must also be kept in mind also that when the police officers act, even wrongly, they do so to defend the people from criminals and safeguard the security of the nation. It is not police policy to inflict harm needlessly on people, even though this might regrettably occur on some occasions.

How and where to draw the balance between the duties and obligation of the security people to protect us all from people who threaten our lives and the suspects’ basic right to life is obviously the broader issue.

 This also means that we all should yield to the police and refrain from confronting them when they conduct their duties 

On the one hand, the police require considerable training and practice so that they know what to expect and how to deal with the unexpected. Police training would seem necessary for this purpose. Strict rules must govern police practices.

Yet this does not paint the full picture of what happened recently.
It seems that some of us believe the police officers are above the law and act accordingly. Whether we belong to a big clan or tribe or family, or not, we all have to realize that no one is above the law and when the police act, they act in the name of the law.

This also means that we all should yield to the police and refrain from confronting them when they conduct their duties. When and if they act wrongly or violate the law in the conduct their operations, this must be reported and be quickly brought to justice in a transparent way.

It is a threat to the country’s sovereignty and image when some people take it upon themselves to challenge state actions in an extrajudicial manner. The way to correct police action if it is needed is not to impede their actions but to report them in an orderly and judicious manner to higher authorities. No matter how aggrieved individuals may be, they must not settle scores directly with the police. There is always the right and legal way to rectify police errors.

We are a country of laws and by laws we must settle our differences and grievances.




*Published in Jordan's THE JORDAN TIMES on Nov. 22, 2009.