A Unique Punishment For Wayward Police

Hello Kitty is a rather cute Japanese cartoon character (pictured above). It's popularity has swept across Asia and appears on a variety of merchandise such as jewelry, lunch boxes, t-shirts, guitars, stationary, cameras, etc. It is extremely popular with children and young women.

Now there is a new use for Hello Kitty -- it is to be used as a punishment. The police force in Thailand is going to use the cartoon to punish police officers who break minor rules or commit misdemeanors. In addition to the normal fines or punishments that anyone would face for the violations (such as littering, illegal parking or coming to work late), police officers would have to work in the stationhouse all day wearing an armband with Hello Kitty on it.

Although they would not be wearing the armband in public, it is thought that the embarrassment of wearing it in front of their fellow officers would spur the offenders to clean up their act and become better officers. It is hoped that this effort to crack down on minor offenses will carry over and result in a lessening of major offenses such as abuse of power.

It's anybody's guess as to whether it will work. It might. Shame and humiliation can be powerful persuaders. At least, the Thai police are making an effort to correct their officers and that's always a good thing. Too many police departments seem to have an adversary relationship with the public, and give their officers a free ride on minor offenses.

I doubt if Hello Kitty would work in this country, but the best departments do crack down on minor offenses. The easiest way for a department to lose the trust and respect of citizens is to foster the perception that police officers are above the law.

Citizens must believe that everyone will be treated fairly, and everyone who breaks the law will be punished -- even police officers.