John MacDonald: Lack of respect for police puts us all at risk

At any time in your life, have you ever been so disrespectful of authority that you’ve given a police officer a whack or a hiding?

I’m not talking here about muttering something under your breath after getting a speeding ticket. I’m talking about lashing out at a police officer.

Have you ever done that? I have never done it. It has never crossed my mind and I can’t imagine a time in the future when it might.

But, as we’re finding out today, there is no shortage of people prepared to dish out violence to police officers and we have to sit up and pay attention.

Newstalk ZB has obtained info that shows the number of assaults on police nearly doubled last year. In 2021, there were 631 recorded assaults. In 2022, that shot up to 1,000.

One police officer who has spoken to us has said: “I’ve been shot, stabbed, beaten, kicked ... you name it, they’ve done it to me."

And here’s how the Vice-President of the Police Association is describing the situation: “Police are seen as fair game and assaulted on a daily basis. It’s a disgrace.” And I couldn’t agree more.

It is an absolute disgrace. On so many fronts.

For starters, how can someone have such low respect for the Police that they have no qualms about lashing out and assaulting an officer? What’s that all about?

The Police Minister tried to explain by saying that these thugs tend to come from very dysfunctional backgrounds. No kidding. But also - so what? I wonder how a Police officer listening to the Minister saying that must’ve felt.

So how did we get to this point where we have this stat out today telling us that assaults on police nearly doubled in just one year?

The other reason why this is an absolute disgrace, is that it doesn’t just mean the cops themselves are at-risk. It means you and I are at-risk too.

Because I bet whenever you see police, you assume that things are going to be under control.

If you’ve ever had to call 111 to get the Police around because something’s going down, I bet you’ve felt very relieved when they’ve turned-up because the Police are the people willing to put themselves between you and the troublemakers. They’re the ones who stand between you and danger.

But, if respect for the Police has eroded so much that there are muppets more than willing to take them on, to assault them - then how safe do you feel now?

Picture this: it’s midnight or 1 o’clock in the morning and, suddenly, there’s this loud banging on your door. You look out the window and see there are gang members outside with what looks like a shotgun or baseball bats.

They’re at your place because someone in your family owes them money for drugs or they think the person they’re after lives there. One of these wrong-address cases.

You’re petrified and, of course, you grab your phone and dial 111, to get help.

In the meantime, you do what you can to try and convince the crims outside not to smash their way into your house - whatever delay tactics you can use until the cops arrive.

Eventually, you see the flashing lights pull up outside and you allow yourself to breathe because help is here, you will be safe. But what happens is, instead of the thugs outside giving in to the police, they take them on. They give the officers a hiding - or worse.

And suddenly, your moment of safety turns to more terror. Because, with the cops down, you’re the next target.

You might have actually been through an experience like that. But, either way, this is why this profound lack of respect for authority and, in particular, why this profound lack of respect for the Police needs to be cracked-down on.

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