EDITORIAL — Things secret should remain secret

Vice Mayor Michael Rama is right. Secret marshals are supposed to be secret and that is how they should remain. Rama had to admonish the police about this because the secret marshals almost literally made a grand entrance when the police announced their deployment in public.

This has always been the bane of law enforcement, that law enforcers just cannot seem to get a grip on their urge to make the headlines. Whenever they have a grand plan or something, instead of just doing it, they never fail to scream it to the whole world.

Never mind if the plan calls for utmost secrecy in order to be effective, as in the case of deploying secret marshals. To law enforcers, it seems that making it to the news is more important than the intended benefits of any plan.

And the problem is widespread. It is like a disease that has infested the entire police organization. Indeed, on nationwide tv the other day, there was splashed video footages of police officers disguised as Santa Clauses inside malls.

The rationale behind the disguise or impersonation is to bring security into the malls at this time of the year without attracting attention and thus forewarn those who may have devious designs against their fellow men.

But for God's sake, all the pickpockets, shoplifters and other criminals have now been amply forewarned of the presence of law enforcers inside the malls. They have been forewarned by the law enforcers themselves who contacted the media about their presence.

What then is the purpose of the Santa Claus disguise when the whole world now knows about the ruse? To have the cover of something that is supposed to be clandestine blown is tough luck. To have that cover blown deliberately is treachery of the highest order.

Perhaps there is a purpose in the disclosure. Maybe there is a need to let, say, the mall management know that policemen are around to keep the place secure. Maybe that is the reason why the police invested good money in procuring those costumes.