Deal with root causes of dangerous situations

Re: “Family of woman killed by Victoria police hopes public hearing brings answers,” April 16.

The article tells of a guest in a supportive housing facility who was killed by Victoria police in circumstances where she apparently had barricaded herself in the room with a knife and set fire to the apartment. Two investigations have cleared the officer, and now a third investigation is commencing that is scheduled to continue for three weeks.

Nothing can take away the tragedy of a life lost, and the hurt of the person’s family is understandable. In times like this, though, I wonder how we manage to have anyone prepared to serve as a police officer.

We “call the cops” whenever we are too indifferent or scared to act ourselves, which is most of the time. We send the police into dangerous and highly volatile situations like this, and then demand they analyze each situation with the speed of a computer and the detachment of a machine.

We investigate their actions and if we don’t like the results we investigate them again, and then again as in this case.

What other occupations are subjected to this where high risk at work is followed by the high risk of armchair criticism?

Yes, we should monitor police conduct, but do it with the understanding we are dealing with people, not machines, and that we sent those police officers into these high risk, dangerous situations where we would not go ourselves.

What we should be investigating in more depth are the reasons why these dangerous situations arise in the first place, and in particular the politicians who allowed the catch-and-release policies, and have not had the political courage to mandate involuntary treatment when needed.

Jason Austin Victoria