Setting The Example

From my favorite streetside coffeeshop I get the opportunity to watch people at different times of the day and night, and one group I like to watch more than any other is the police. As a former policeman myself, I have a keen interest in both their behavior and their effectiveness, but as a long-time resident of the Philippines, with a natural desire to live in a safe and peaceful environment, I have to ask a question: Why does this country's lead law enforcement agency do such a poor job of setting the example for the rest of us?

I'm talking about the simple things, like following traffic rules. The law applies to everyone, but even more so to the police. No matter how strictly the enforcement, the public will never obey laws that the police themselves ignore. This concept is one of the cornerstones of law enforcement, and must not be underestimated in the drive to achieve a self-disciplined society. A policeman, who runs a red light without proper justification, or indeed without using the appropriate emergency equipment, is just as much a lawbreaker as any ordinary citizen. And the fact that the PNP has to spend money to maintain hundreds of cars doesn't make it any more legal to drive one without headlights than the average citizen who owns only one.

Many policemen mistakenly believe that their duties allow them to disobey laws whenever it's convenient to do so. Police patrol cars are frequently seen going the wrong way down a one-way street, cruising casually through a red light, or driving at night without any lights. Policeman on motorcycles behave almost like kids on bicycles, and rarely obey any traffic laws at all. In fact, most days I probably see more police motorcycles driving on the sidewalk than on the regular street. Private security agencies, while not officially law enforcement bodies, are even worse about this, with almost all of their vehicles moving around on the public streets and sidewalks, against the flow of traffic and with all their lights turned off.

The Philippine National Police likes to talk the talk, and claims to be making great strides toward professionalizing the force. To be fair, they have made a lot of improvement in recent years, but real change will only come when the individual policeman can be seen routinely obeying the laws of the land. All the laws. At first it will take strict supervision, and quite a few reprimands. But in a truly just society, the laws must apply to everyone. And as I said before, how can government enforce laws that its own people don't obey?

This may seem like a minor nuts-and-bolts issue, but the truth is, the nuts-and-bolts are where the country needs the most work.