Police have to own up whenever they blunder

Obstinacy and denial are the standard responses from police to claims of any and all abuses by officers in the course of their operations. As a strategy, this knee-jerk reaction serves to reinforce the perception that anything goes in the service. It, thus, ensures all claims, whether true or false, hang around the police service like a bad smell.

As part of reforms to improve the way law and order works, the police need to embrace transparency and acknowledge failings if and when they occur. Only in a climate where there is a genuine effort to find out whether orders are implemented lawfully is it possible to weed out rogue officers and avoid the stain of serious crimes by the boys in blue.