In the line of fire

The roll of honour of officers from this region’s police forces who have paid the ultimate price in the pursuit of criminals and the protection of the public is an illustrious one. But it is also, of course, like those of other forces, far too lengthy.

Indeed, since the birth of modern policing nearly two centuries ago, more than 4,000 officers have died in the line of duty and it was a belated act of recognition when the annual Memorial Day was introduced in 2004 to give the families of the fallen, as well as fellow officers and members of the public, an opportunity to remember and to pay their respects.

Nor should this opportunity be spurned. For, without the police’s willingness to put themselves in the line of fire, this country’s level of crime, great as it may be, would be far, far worse.