ASSAULTS ON THE POLICE

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 54, 28 November 1918, Page 4

ASSAULTS ON THE POLICE

"There is only one way to deal with these cowardly and brutal assaults, and that is to hit the assailants hard." Mit. F. V. Frazer, S.M., used these words in sending three men to gaol yesterday for assaulting a constable, and his expressed determination to do his utmost to put down ruffianism of this kind will be endorsed by every rightthinking man, and woman in the community. The public interest demands that the authority of. the police should be upheld. They have a right to expect the Courts to back them up in the legitimate exercise of their jjowcrs, aiid they are entitled to the moral support of public opinion. Indeed, they are entitled to physical assistance from the public in case of need, and it is regrettable that they do not always get it. It is the duty of every citizen to help the police in the suppression of crime and disorder. In a democratic country like New Zealand the police are the representatives of the public, and attacks on them are offences against the

community. They stand for law, and without law there can be no true freedom. The enemies of the police are the enemies of the public, and should be treated as such. It is of the greatest importance that it should be made as plain as possible that every policeman on duty has the whole power—moral and physical—of the community behind-him. lie is much more than a mere individual. His legitimate acts are the acts of the. community. Assaults on the police arc more serious than ordinary assaults, because they tend to undermine that respect for law and order which is one of the foundations of social life. Without it a community degenerates into an undisciplined rabble in which the strong trample on the weak. If drastic punishment is not meted out to lawless men guilty of brutal assaults on constables, we may be cuiite certain that brutal assaults on other people will become increasingly common. Men who have no respect for the authority of the police -are not likely to show much respect' for the rights of ordinary citizens.