You Told Us To Butt Out

ACT Justice Spokesman today said he was not surprised that bystanders stood by and did nothing as a Levin policeman was attacked and wrestled to the ground.

"It's appalling, but what can you expect when Police constantly give the message that only they are allowed to use force to defend against crime?" Mr Franks said.

"It is high time that Police returned to the founding principle of policing, that fulltime police are there to assist, not replace community self-defence. Sir Robert Peel's basic principle was that police merely do, fulltime, what any citizen can and should do when the situation demands.

"Every time the police deride a brave shopkeeper who has defended himself - or threatened to prosecute someone for taking personal responsibility, instead of calling and expecting a remote police force to sort things out for them - they make it more likely that police under attack will be left at the mercy of the thugs," said Mr Franks.

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