EDITORIAL - For whom the bell tolls

The idea of putting up “satisfaction bells” outside police stations, for people to ring if satisfied by police service, sparked quite an interest the moment it was revealed, if only because it was novel.

 It has been reported that the bell got rung a good number of times in at least one location. It is entirely possible similar bells will be merrily ringing in other stations as well. But because it is a novelty, do not expect the bells to keep ringing for long.

 There was a suggestion that, to put things into better perspective, “dissatisfaction bells” out to be put up alongside the “satisfaction bells.” Well and good. But even these bells will eventually fall silent too.

 People just do not do these things. They will ultimately tire of the ritual. In the end, there will be far better and more effective ways of letting the police know how satisfactory or unsatisfactory their services are in the eyes of the public.

 To be sure, the police, just like anybody else doing a thankless job, would find it a great boost to morale if they are notified, by whatever means, that they work they do, and for which they even have to risk their lives on occasion, is truly appreciated. 

But police work, just like a few other jobs, is not called thankless without reason. It is described as such because it is a job one performs with a great sense of purpose and dedication, a sense so great it leaves little room for applause.

 If appreciation comes, fine. If it does not, the world does not collapse on the policeman doing his job day in and day out. Police work, to a policeman, is his life. Even when off duty, he cannot completely shed his mission of trying to keep the peace in his community.

 In the end, the fact that people still run to the police for assistance is more than enough affirmation of the great dependence the public has on police services. If the bell falls from where it hangs from eventual disuse, that does not mean the police has grown irrelevant.

 Thus, let it be said here and now, that no decent and civilized society can exist without the police right in the very center of it. There will be a few strains and ruffles here and there in that relationship, but in the end, our institutional respect for the police stays unshaken.