<B>By Pauline ETIENNE</B>

Some alleged behaviour of some police forces is terrifying! Whether it is police brutality or abuse of power, some police officers, according to alleged victims, tend to believe that they are above the law. And, so far, nothing has forced them to think otherwise. An artist said he was pinpointed at a bus station, his suitcase searched, taken to the police station and humiliated both physically and mentally until he finally ? almost by chance ? managed to escape. For the moment, these are mere allegations and do not put us in a position to condemn anyone. But non-governmental organisations (NGOs) dealing with human rights are anxious about a certain wing of the police that does not hesitate to swear at young students and insult them only because ? as young people ? they tend to speak loud after school. Some of the latter are even said to have been beaten. In which country are we living where none of us can walk safely in the streets for fear of being assaulted by a police officer ? supposedly responsible for our security. When those who are supposed to take care of us turn against us, then to whom should we turn for help?

This attitude of some members of the police force is likely to raise a major security issue very soon. Although these people may only be a few black sheep of an otherwise serious and careful police force, they are tarnishing the image of the profession. If the allegations made by Nitin Chinien are proved right, there must undeniably be some citizens who have seen the beginning of the incident at the bus station. But who will dare come to the forefront to relate what he/she saw after having precisely been the privileged witness of such violence by the police force? Such behaviour is undoubtedly counter-productive for the resolution of an enquiry. The problem is that the new pattern is that such violence seems to occur for no apparent reason. According to Nitin Chinien, he still does not know what the police wanted when they saw him at the bus station. Likewise, the recent arrest of a 44 year-old mother because she was suspected to have information on the disappearance of her son and his fiancé looks like an abuse of power. She spent three days in prison despite her cries that she did not know where her son was. When you treat any potential witness as a dangerous criminal, how can you expect the public to trust you enough to come forward if they have information on a specific case? The MCIT might have had serious doubts that she knew something but there is standard human behaviour to adopt for the sake of institutions and justice.