Police admits not doing their job

Just a few blogs back I wondered if the Finnish police are up to their tasks (see 'Professionals can not drive?'). The supposition was not without factual base: the police themselves have admitted not doing their job.


Some time ago during this summer or spring a police officer was interviewed on the radio. The reporter asked him if something could be done to clean up the traffic, that has grown to be rather reckless. He asked why do the policemen not stop the speedsters and other offensive rule breakers.

- But then we'd have to stop virtually everybody, the police officer replied.

So the police are well aware that the traffic culture has already grown out of control, but yet they seem to have no intention to do anything about it in their everyday work.


According to a recent newspaper writing one police officer has told the writer, that he is aware that some patrol units accept tasks only by the police radio. They do not react on incidents that they see in the traffic.

If the police are patrolling, but doing nothing, they are patrolling for nothing, and we are paying their salaries for nothing. When people have seen that the police do not care of anything, they have learned that they can drive as recklessly as they like. Traffic legislation no longer is valid in Finland; the Finnish police have in practice authorized the reckless driving.


If the police did do their job, they certainly would have to start it by stopping virtually everybody. Similarly if I did leave my job undone for a lengthy period, I'd simply have to do a hell lot of work to clear the piled up work to get back to normal work level. Sitting still like the police do, would only make the pile grow even higher.

So 'stopping virtually everybody' is exactly what the police should now do. We are paying them for doing their job, not for idling in their patrol cars or giving excuses for not doing their job.