The incessant vituperative castigation of our police force, by wide sections of our society, compelled me to pen this letter in order to point out some home truths to those sagacious cynics. At the onset, let me point out one pertinent fact. It may sound like something out of Ripley’s “Believe it or Not”, but did you know that the Namibian police force actually comprises of normal human being like you or me? People with similar needs and wants like us, not to mention emotional and other problems? Confounding, eh? I mean, we probably assumed that they were nothing but mechanical robots who are expected to perform at high levels of efficiency. Another fact to be noted is that, despite the ever-escalating cost of living, there have not been any significant changes in the average remuneration of the police force. Then there are those “minor” factors such as working long hours, high personal risk at work, etc. Of course these issues are too insignificant to be taken into account while judging our policemen, so what if they are human beings too? Our society takes great pleasure in hurling brickbats at government servants. However, to the best of my knowledge, I have never seen anybody take up cudgels on behalf of these individuals. You get that occasional media report mentioning the problems of these individuals but that is soon forgotten. Nobody is interested in the mundane problems of average human beings. The valour of these intrepid policemen is often forgotten overnight. We may have jails full of criminals because of the sincere endeavours of these policemen, but who has the time to appreciate all that? Like any other organisation, there are a few rotten apples in the Namibian police too, but how come we never remember to appreciate the good ones? One thing is for certain, any display of inefficiency or incapability by one or more of these individuals, as a force, is never forgotten. On a personal level, for the record, I must admit that, regardless of all the criticism, I still have a healthy respect for the Namibian policeman on the street. I mean, the sight of a policeman on a desolate road still instills a degree of security in your heart. Similarly the glimpse of a police vehicle automatically forces a speeding motorist to take his feet off the accelerator. Therefore, it would not be unreasonable to conjecture that subconsciously or otherwise, the general public still vests a substantial degree of confidence in our policemen. OK, there is no denying the basic fact that the functioning of the police force has plenty of flaws. Nevertheless, these are rectifiable flaws. The main point is to identify the root of such problems and then find a practical solution. Just sitting back and passing critical remarks does not accomplish anything. A general overview of the working of the police force tends to reflect a conspicuous paucity of funds, which is a generally accepted fact in our country. Well, it’s easy for us to sit back and say that the government is not providing enough funds to the police force, but then again remember this is Namibia, a proudly developing African country and not some developed country in Europe or America, where the police departments are credited with enormous financial resources, among other resources. The Namibian government, unlike most developed countries, has its resource constraints. The government has of course the option to allocate higher amounts to the police force, but that will surely be at the cost of increasing taxes which will definitely send the rest of the country howling. However, the shocking fact is that, despite the severe resource constraints, the police continue in their endeavour to keep the country relatively crime free and all they get in return is a barrage of criticism. Look, here is an organisation whose members, despite their relatively impecunious situation, constantly put their lives on the line of fire just so that you can sleep peacefully at night and what do you give them in return? You miss no opportunity to denigrate or defame such honourable people. I guess it’s high time these “cynics” had a close look at themselves in the mirror. I am sure they are going to be quite surprised at what they see. Anyway, the pertinent question is, what are we, the responsible members of society, doing in this regard? Are we just going to lie back and continue with our disparaging remarks on the government and our police force? Or do we, for a change, actually behave as responsible and concerned citizens? The Namibian police force is not an organ outside the state of Namibia, but is as much a part of this country as you and me. Therefore, in order to co-exist peacefully and progressively, the people of Namibia have to do their bit toward the establishment of a professional-class police force. We just can’t wash our hands of the matter by saying that it is the duty of government to take care of this matter. It is high time we made ourselves useful towards our country. For example, the private sector could coordinate with the Namibian police and organise cultural and/or sports shows, etc. on a regular basis and the money collected from such shows could be used to help the police force acquire sophisticated weapons and other related inventory which, in the long run, will greatly benefit our country. This is, of course, a simple suggestion and I am sure if we put our mind to it, we could generate a lot of effective solutions in this regard. What we have to bear in mind is the basic fact that the Namibian police force is an organisation of human beings, not machines or computers. Therefore, it is natural that they exhibit human characteristics. They will have some good factors and some bad ones. Nevertheless, they are an effective social force in our country and it is high time we learnt to beneficially live with it. The police force, as a pillar of our society is, without doubt, accountable to society for its regular and healthy functioning. Nevertheless, society too has a duty toward such a pillar or institution. We cannot just sit back and keep judging everything as black or white. It is the proverbial “grey areas” that should matter the most to us human beings and our police force is definitely an inherent part of such a grey area. Therefore, the next time you form an opinion on one or more acts of the Namibian police force, please try and understand the big picture before passing any remarks. Ashok Iyer Ondangwa