OPINION
What is a routine police callout these days? The potential for something to go horribly wrong must always be a possibility. How do you plan for all eventualities? You probably can’t.
I believe our police officers take their lives into their hands every time they are on duty.
That’s why I found the killing of Constables Rachel McCrow and Matthew Arnold in Queensland this month very sad and disturbing. A member of the public who went to see what was happening on his neighbouring property was also gunned down. Who in their right mind sits down and plans how to lure, ambush and slay police officers attending what they perceived would be a routine call? Three deranged people. They were also killed in the shootout that followed when other police officers arrived at the isolated rural property.
Over Christmas I found myself thinking of the families, friends and police colleagues of the two slain officers. Their joy of the upcoming Christmas celebrations and holidays would have been shattered.
It is hard to celebrate having just buried a loved family member, friend and respected colleague. More than 8000 people attended the memorial service held in Brisbane three days before Christmas, including the Australian Prime Minister, the leader of the opposition and thousands of police officers. I suspect many of the officers must have been thinking “that could have been me”.
In my opinion, few jobs carry the degree of uncertainty, of not knowing what to expect, from your working day. Of course, police work has its many facets, not everyone attends callouts. For those that do, are domestic violence situations ever exactly the same, assaults, burglaries? So much depends on the characters involved.
I’m sure police try to anticipate what the situation is likely to be, that they are walking into. But in a moment everything could change. Police are not mindreaders.
At this time of year, our police are on high alert. Some New Zealanders are partying and playing up. We are outdoors enjoying the summer; wining and dining and having fun. Alcohol will be consumed, fights break out and trouble started. The police will be called to volatile situations. These are not planned; they just happen because the fun time has turned bad. And therein lies the danger for the police. Trying to calm things down, deal with drunks and an unruly situation.
The police killings in Queensland were extreme. But in every routine police callout there is the possibility for something to go wrong. I think the public has a responsibility to the police too. To make sure our behaviour doesn’t put them at risk.
It’s time we stepped up and started looking out for our police officers. Yes, they are doing their job but they are family, friends and neighbours too.