When cops cool off catching criminals

Weather should not matter in the battle between good and evil — but it does, now.

Turning the heat on criminals is generally deemed to be a primary duty of law enforcement; and the intention is to put all wrongdoers in the cooler as soon as possible. Temperatures, however, should have very little to do with this perennial battle between good versus evil unless retribution is deferred to a presumed afterlife in a supposedly scorching netherworld. Of course, it has been noted that rising mercury can lead to frayed tempers and consequent lawless behaviour, so, the onset of particularly high temperatures should make law enforcers more alert. In this context, the call by the police department of the aptly named town of Braintree, Massachusetts, in the US putting up a post on social media asking criminals to hold off nefarious activities till the weather improves next week begs the question of whom the officers really want to help. No doubt both felons and their nemeses will be constrained by debilitating heat, so a cooling-off period would benefit both.

The concern exhibited by the policemen for the well-being of their quarries is commendable. But, clearly, duty is not far from their minds even in high heat as among their suggestions about what lawbreakers should do during their hot weather hiatus very helpfully includes posting mugshots using the new FaceApp. Talk about ‘killing’ two jailbirds with one app.