Leave the Excuses Behind and Catch the Thief

Justice Minister Cemil Cicek responded to police comments that their hands had been tied since the "April 1. Law" by saying: “Let's get ready to fiercely address the problems caused by a long tradition of producing excuses. We will not continue with the procedures we inherited". “We are not questioning the procedures handed down from before. Acknowledging the problems with our security strengths, accordingly, it is necessary to develop directives to work appropriately towards a new concept.” Crime is on the rise in big cities “The laws of April first have not yet come into effect. But despite this there is a rise in crime in cities such as İstanbul, Adana and Antalya. It is for sure, however, that the policing will continue to improve in the near future as the police authority continues to develop. Internationally, Turkey will be recognized for this in the near future.” Cicek said, "To say that it is dirty means that it needs to be cleaned. We are hearing constantly from the police: ‘we catch the thieves and the attorney general lets them go free.' "This cleaning is police responsibility; it is like saying 'every day I clean the street and then it gets dirty again'. This is not an intelligent nor appropriate response."�