Many countries celebrate an annual Police Day. In Malta, we do it on July 15 and we do it in grand style. But what is its significance?

Over the last few years, politicians from both sides have argued about various issues and controversial measures, all in the name of the rule of law. One of the fundamental pillars of the rule of law is respect for and enforcement of the law, with nobody being above it.

Such observance is, according to our democratic legal system, the responsibility of the executive police.

Our police corps has been in the limelight over the last few years perhaps for the wrong reasons – wrong choices in the appointment of a commissioner, suspected inaction with respect to certain events, undue interference from the political arm of the executive.

But even during such turbulent times for the corps, the majority of police officers continued to live up to their responsibility and duty to serve ordinary citizens in need of their intervention and protection.

Political polarisation should not keep us from giving credit where due. Many times, more than one exemplary officer has gone that extra mile in giving a sterling service to the citizen.

Let’s face it, the police service has undergone some radical changes in both its structural set-up and the way it functions. Police Commissioner Angelo Gafà is intrinsically bound to a specific mission statement and related vision for the corps based on his intelligent and holistic approach.

We are talking of no fewer than 2,400 members of the corps who go about protecting our community round the clock, taking in their stride a lot of abuse from people who do not know them and simply do not like them.

Regardless, police officers respond to the call of duty. A lot of people do appreciate the police but it just solidifies it when people show their appreciation, as we should do, if not every now and then at least on Police Day.

There are many reasons why all officers, from top to bottom, deserve our thanks and respect. Too often, the hard and dangerous work that officers do goes unnoticed or, at least, unrecognised. Most people do not really think about what the police do every day in their community until they need assistance from them.

Too often, the hard and dangerous work that officers do goes unnoticed or unrecognised- Lara Said

One has to do it to fully grasp the risks they take in their job. This really cannot be overstated. Every day, police officers leave the comfort of their homes to protect us from malicious elements in our community. They put themselves in dangerous situations that could end in injury or death, all in the name of public safety.

Indeed, some unfortunate officers have given up their lives in the line of duty. It is fitting that, on Police Day, we remember them in our thoughts and prayers and appreciate their ultimate sacrifice.

It is not a job that many people sign up for and it is sad that many of us ignore the good that police do every day. They do our dirty work. They deal with the worst elements in society. This is not easy physically or mentally. They do it so we don’t have to. Yet, they are given a bad image.

In addition to going out and protecting their communities every day, police officers work in the knowledge that any mistake they make could end up all over the media. People who never interact with officers then end up with negative images of them from the media coverage.

The police are not out to get you. They do not want to hurt anyone. Their job is to protect, not harm their community. If we treat them with respect, they will treat us the same way.

Police officers take a lot of abuse from people who do not know them and simply don’t like them. Showing them a little respect will go a long way.

They are human too. This is something that gets overlooked. Maybe it is because of the uniform and the badge but people often think that the police are very different from them.

But their children probably go to the same school as yours. They eat at the same restaurants, get their coffee at the same corner store.

Too often, we forget that police officers are not infallible and, sometimes, make mistakes. That is not a good enough reason to treat them with contempt or try to make their job more difficult.

We must honour, protect and support our police officers and their families every day of the year.

Mark Said is a lawyer.