Over the past few days I have seen so many different posts on social media ranting and raving about the police and how they are becoming Nazi like and doing nothing more than revenue raising. As a so called ‘victim’ of this latest activity I thought I would lend my voice in support of the police and the job that they do.

Yes, on my way out to Port Augusta on Christmas Eve I received my first ever traffic infringement notice. I was speeding and I got caught. It serves me right. At the age of 51 I know that I have been very fortunate to go this long without ever being caught before. I also know that I am very fortunate not to have had an accident in which either I or others have been injured.

Rules are put in place for a reason and when it comes to our roads and our personal safety it is the police who are there to enforce those rules.

I worked for a time in an administrative support role for the Qld Police. During this time it never ceased to amaze me just how thick skinned these wonderful men and women had to be. The vast majority of people treat police officers with the same respect and fellowship that they treat any person. There are however, those people who seem to have an inbred dislike for any form of authority, police especially. They can and do behave in ways that your average Joe Blow on the street would find offensive and often feel the need to retaliate to. The police though must show measures of restraint where the general public are concerned. In my experience these same people who issued infringement notices for whatever reason are also the ones that are expected to deal with the results of the offences that the laws are there to prevent. More often than not the people who treated the police with total disrespect are the first ones to call upon them for assistance when things go wrong. I saw this happen and I have to say that I was never anything but impressed by the professionalism and empathy with which the police officers reacted.

Social media has become a way in which people express their opinions about many things and I am only too happy to support freedom of speech and the right to have our own individual thoughts and feelings on any topic we chose to consider. I just wonder how many people actually stop to think before they “speak” in such an open forum.

I saw one post which was ranting about a man being fined for leaving the window down in his car. The picture that accompanied the rant was of a young man holding up his infringement notice in front of the offending window. Many people were commenting on how ridiculous it was and how it was ‘obviously’ revenue raising. I wonder would the comments have been the same if he had been posting a ‘Stolen’ notice? Obviously not.

As for traffic infringements – don’t get me started. As a member of the local Ambulance Committee and an active member of the State Emergency Service I saw (thankfully not too often) results of these laws being flaunted.

It is far too easy to become desensitised to the grief, trauma and loss that accompanies road accidents when we see it on the news night after night. Usually a fleeting moment of emotion and that is the last we think of it. Not so for those poor police officers and other emergency service personnel who have to go about their job as professionals. How many people actually spare a thought for the police officer who has to knock on someone’s door and deliver the worst possible news to loved ones? Or have to go to an accident in a small community fully aware that it could well be someone with whom they shared a meal or a joke the day before.

I am aware that mine is a very small voice, however I do ask that people at least stop to consider all sides of a situation before they over react and start vilifying others and their professions. Police are there to ‘serve the people’ and that is what they do.

To the men and women in blue (or khaki or whatever colour you wear) I raise my hat to you. You have my deepest respect for putting your life on the line each and every time you kiss your families as you walk out the door. I can only say that I am honoured to call some of you my friends.