Sir,
Two recent stories in your paper have provoked this letter. The first was in your edition of May 5, ‘Fan riot sparks police boycott threat’.
How I laughed at the police response, it brings back that song from the 80s, when the going gets tough, and in this case, the tough do not get going and the fans run amok. What was the Larnaca police chief doing in the front line? There should have been plenty of his officers in his way to protect him. This shows he had no control over his troops. No leadership. It’s like an army general with a rifle in the front line, the troops are leaderless and unsure what to do, as there is no direction and the situation spirals out of control.
What message is this sending to his men and women? That when time comes let’s run away? This is from a police chief? Abdication at best. The police cannot waive their responsibilities to the public. What of the innocent caught in the crossfire? It now becomes every man for himself? It’s the police’s responsibility to control the public.
Incidents like this make me lose faith in our nation’s finest. This is not a solitary situation.
The public can run riot everywhere, whether it is:
* Motorcycles riding about 160km down the coast road in Limassol, no helmets and no care for the public
* Children running around the inside of a moving car, distracting the driver, and unwittingly ready for the catapult through the front windscreen.
* JCB drivers talking on mobile phones while in motion and swerving all over the road, driving with their elbows while smoking! Should be a circus act.
* Kids using residential areas to test their motorbikes – the police response, ‘we’re busy and can’t attend’ (in other words let the kids kill themselves we abdicate)
* Where residential areas border agricultural land let the land owners burn their weekly rubbish – never mind the black plumes of smoke wafting through my £180,000 house.
* Police controlling peak traffic flows totally ineffective as they look cool in their new designer sunglasses and worry about who is looking
* No seat belts worn in the majority of cars
* Cars parked on pavements forcing pedestrians onto the main road especially the disabled and families with push chairs
* On the subject, cars illegally parked everywhere causing havoc for other traffic
* Moped drivers with helmets and their passengers without (special Kevlar skulls?)
* Motorcycles on the road without number plates and probably no insurance
The list goes on. This dodgy leadership at the top has led to the total abdication of the uniformed police from their duties, especially with so much to contend with. Come on, sort it out, and get tough before tragedy increases tenfold. We need strong leadership, that is, robust enough to tackle evolving problems, be one step ahead, and maintain a degree of control at every corner.
The uniformed officers need this direction. If you turn a blind eye to the problems then people will die.
The second story I want to mention was on Wednesday, ‘Action needed on zebra crossings’. How I laughed at the director of Police Traffic Unit reading out the Highway Code. Only yesterday, I was crossing the coast road in Limassol at a pedestrian crossing. The light was on RED and I had a GREEN man, and as I began to cross, a police car, not on a blue light, whooshed past on the far lane. Referring to the manual of Highway Code I would also like to point out that you must stop when faced with a red light! Contradiction or what. Yes, Doros Achilledeos, ‘it’s a criminal offence not to stop.’ STOP THEN and get your officers to follow your lead!
Chris Ioannou
Limassol
