Is this cracking down on crime?

What on earth is going on in the police corps? It seems that some of the boys and girls in blue are trying to land the prize for most ridiculous bobby on the beat.

Even if we take their less than forceful demeanour during the transport strike as an exercise in restraint and caution, how do we explain some of their ludicrous actions soon after? Take their complaints about the quality of refreshments served to police officers on duty during the strike. They lamented the fact that they only got a small supply of water and that it was warm. On the other hand, the spaghetti served to them was cold and meagrely topped with an unappetising spoonful of tomato sauce.

Now, anybody having to work in unfavourable conditions has my sympathy. Standing around in the blazing sun trying to control bands of sweaty, bare-chested bus drivers isn't anybody's idea of fun. And if payment for the overtime worked is long in coming, then it stands to reason that forming a human barrier to stop the gibbering strikers from charging up the stairs of Castille is not going to be a welcome prospect.

But really, don't the police officers moaning about soggy spaghetti realise what a wimpy and undignified image they are presenting to the public? Instead of earning kudos by dealing with the situation in a stoic and dignified manner, they're running to the papers whining about the inferior quality of their on-the-job snacks. Why couldn't they have done the most sensible thing and shelled out a couple of euros for a bagful of cheesecakes. It wouldn't have broken the bank and would have been far more practical than holding out for al dente pasta in the midst of national chaos.

The police officers had another gripe. Some of them complained that no sun protection cream had been supplied. Couldn't it have been applied before reporting for duty, they were asked. Apparently not - because none of them had been informed in advance where they would be stationed.

When I read this, I was torn between incredulity and fits of laughter. What exactly were the police officers expecting? Did they think that senior officials would be lining up to rub sunscreen factor 30 over their shoulder blades and on to the tips of their noses?

And what was all that about not knowing where they would be posted on duty? The probabilities were that the police officers would have been stationed outdoors and since the whole country is one sun-blistered arid rock with hardly any shady spots, it would have made sense to smear on the sunscreen just in case the Commissioner was occupied with more pressing matters than ensuring that his officers were completely covered in the stuff.

Am I making too much of a couple of silly comments made by some police officers? I don't think so. I find that the complaints made are similar in spirit to those voiced by many others. They reveal a tendency to depend on others and to shirk personal responsibility.

A large section of the population has turned into a choir of whiners expecting some other individual or entity to look out for them, instead of looking out for themselves. They rely on others to see to their every need when they are quite capable of obtaining or acquiring what they want. Unfortunately this mentality has become commonplace. Everywhere you go you find people grousing about their lack of opportunities or lack of wealth and not lifting a finger towards rectifying that situation.

Of course there are a number of cases where social conditions or external factors hamper betterment prospects. However, there are others where rolling up one's sleeves and getting down to business will improve matters considerably. Unfortunately evidence of this can-do mindset is becoming increasingly rare.

When police officers - members of a force which should be synonymous with discipline and resourcefulness - start grumbling about the fact that they haven't been given enough notice to smear on sunscreen, you know we're in trouble.

It really wasn't a good couple of weeks for the police. After raising the public's ire for not being forceful enough with the transport strikers, they were in the news for arresting seven Swedish teenagers for parading around Paceville in their boxer shorts.

Instead of dealing with the teenager tourists by giving them a good ticking off and telling them to slip on their jeans, the police hauled them to a cell, where they spent the night. The next day they were charged with committing lewd acts in public.

I wonder about the sort of police officers posted in Paceville and how they are galvanised into protecting the public from the sight of boys in boxers but not from the masses of girls in thongs or even from the more off-putting man boobs and low slung shorts worn by some strikers. I guess it's all a matter of priorities.

The next time you get no joy after reporting a nuisance or an incident to the police, you can take comfort from the fact that they're rounding up all those dangerous boxer shorts wearers out there.

cl.bon@nextgen.net.mt