Policing and rights: No zero-sum game
No one says a policeman’s job is easy. That would only be the case in a police state. However, previous societies scrapped such regimes because they created more problems than those they solved. The anachronistic and unconstitutional proposals made by the Panhellenic Federation of Police Officers regarding house searches without the presence of judiciary officials are a cause for concern. Laws exist to protect citizens, not to facilitate the life of state functionaries. Second, crime cannot be tackled by curtailing the rights of citizens. Rather, it requires a better job on behalf of policemen. The question is not whether suspects can be detained for 48 hours instead of 24 but making sure that they cannot escape from police custody, like the breakout from the Kypseli department early yesterday.
