The conviction on appeal of two policemen for attempted bribery and breaching their secrecy duty (see Wednesday newspaper) was the talk of the town. The ruling turned out to be almost a complete reversal of the lower court’s findings, which had acquitted one and found the other guilty only of abusing his position.
Consequently, the new sentence included a three-year ban from the profession, in addition to community service. The three-judge panel held it against the duo that they had damaged public confidence in the St. Maarten Police Force KPSM and said their actions showed them to be completely incapable of bearing the responsibility of being a police officer.
People might now indeed be inclined to think corruption and other irregularities are rampant within KPSM, but that kind of generalising is uncalled for. Sure, there have been several prior criminal cases involving even high-ranking officers over the years and some were also tried for selling their votes.
However, while they say one bad apple can spoil the bunch, a majority of “men and women in blue” no doubt have integrity and are honest and law-abiding. There is no reason to jump to conclusions.
Although it may be shocking to learn how those entrusted with serving and protecting society do practically the exact opposite, one should keep in mind that this probably regards just a few. They are at least being caught, charged and prosecuted, which in many countries is not necessarily a given.
