KELLY

A friend of mine calls me the patron saint of bad decisions. But all the bloopers I've made in my lifetime are looking very pale in comparison to the events that have plagued the police top brass in recent weeks.

A certain inspector who has more reports against him than a troubled juvenile has caused the top brass of the force to look rather foolish. I wasn't present when the powers that be in the force decided to promote this policeman to inspector; but, I'm fairly certain they are removing their hair from the very roots right now in light of his participation in the Dr. Ford beating.

Loyalty

Having chastised the top brass for their apparent foolhardiness, a word or two can be said about loyalty. The top cops were loyal to him by entrusting him with greater responsibility and how did he reward them? Exactly! Whatever your character or behaviour, shouldn't the fact that you were chosen over others who might have deserved it more act as a deterrent to behaving badly? Suppose not.

And in a related police story (this one not an uplifting one either), a witness has to go into protective custody because she has a case against who? A policeman! The mere fact that the need for protective custody is deemed necessary is very sad.

Latest twist

File photo shows a policeman as he tries to accost a man who breached the line during an investigation of a shooting along Barry Street in downtown Kingston.

And what about the latest twist with the Bob Woolmer case? If Scotland Yard is right, then it wasn't murder at all and some people are already snickering at Mark Shields and his boys. In all fairness to them, they only went by what the pathologist told them. But I can see why they might not look like the most proficient unit in the eyes of the international media.

It all adds up to the notion that the local peacekeepers do not carry the same stigma of police of old. What ever happened to the days when police work was seen as a noble profession and not one to enter just because you couldn't get anything else? What percentage of recruits in the past 10 years grew up really wanting to be police officers?

It's not all their fault mind you. The society they police is in no way as serene as that of their predecessors. The 'bad guys' guns have become bigger, their methods have become more devious and their targets are getting younger in age.

Yes, our police are in a war and we salute the ones who are still fighting it the way they are supposed to. But, as with other sectors of society, a few bad apples are messing it up for the rest of them.

Arrest me at: daviot.kelly@gleanerjm.com.