Zero Crime Rate Growth—The Emperor's New Clothes

Three months ago, Minister Yü made a bold pledge demanding zero crime rate growth over the next three months, risking his official position as a guarantee. Hearing this, the author knew that frontline police officers across the country would once again suffer from "indigestion." When the Minister clears his throat, the cascading pressure from the bureaucracy creates a greater shock for frontline police officers than SARS. It is not that achieving zero crime rate growth is an impossible mission, nor is it to cast doubt on the Minister's ambitious vision for a great leap forward in public safety; rather, the Minister's official hat is simply too heavy a burden for the police to bear, and the task assigned by the Minister cannot be achieved merely through the police force striving to do better.

Since its inception, the Taiwan Association for Police Reform (TAPR) has deeply detested politicians who routinely beautify figures to whitewash public safety and whitewash peace, thereby squeezing the operational space and professional policy-making of the police, and has repeatedly and loudly called for this to stop. Minister Chang Po-ya heeded this at the time; she confronted the problem of police refusing to accept or filing away reports ("chi-an"), and even traded away disciplinary actions in exchange for the presentation of true data, because failing to face problems squarely makes it impossible to solve them. At that time, police officers lived through a period free from the pressure of accepting case reports, guarding public safety with their conscience. However, good times do not last. In pursuit of political achievements, Minister Yü has repeated the old tactics of former Ministers Huang Chu-wen and Lin Yang-kang in declaring the eradication of bandits. Over the past three months, police officers have been thrown into a panic and the public is full of complaints, yet the Minister remains self-satisfied, acting like someone wearing "The Emperor's New Clothes," which is quite laughable.

First, high-ranking officials of the National Police Agency, too cowardly to stand up and dissuade the Minister from unprofessional policies that distort police duties, can be considered accomplices who place the Minister in an unjust position. What distresses the author even more is that, although we clearly hold information showing frontline police officers burying cases due to unbearable pressure from superiors, we cannot publicly denounce the flaws in the Minister's zero-growth policy. This is because the Minister has already arranged a "zero-risk exit" policy: namely, "severe punishment for burying cases." The moment a buried case is discovered, they will "sever the wrist to save the arm" by penalizing frontline personnel. In other words, even if fabricated data is discovered, it is not the Minister's fault and he does not need to step down. Under the heavy punishment (for burying cases) and heavy pressure (zero growth), frontline colleagues are reduced to being squeezed like "nanometer sandwiches" (under extreme pressure), and their perfunctory and deceitful attitudes toward citizens reporting crimes can well be imagined. The author hesitates to expose these malpractices out of fear of causing collateral damage, leaving us caught in a dilemma.

Nevertheless, observing the recent doubts, sneering, and condemnation from the public and media regarding the zero-growth policy, the author remains full of hope. At the very least, this shows that the calls made by TAPR and various sectors over the years have awakened public consciousness: whether public safety is good or bad depends on one's own lived experience. To ensure good public safety, apart from the police catching thieves, comprehensive complementary measures—such as legal education and the shaping of a broader economic environment—are indispensable. We must no longer listen to politicians' public safety statistics, nor should we believe that policies of fooling the public and the police, akin to the emperor's new clothes, can protect an official's position. Such policies should cease. We implore today's Minister Yü and future Ministers of the Interior to take this lesson to heart, stop forcing police officers to become thieves and swindlers, and please return professional investigative space to the police!!

※ Published in: Liberty Times