Police officer jailed for 20 weeks for WhatsApp memes

Although I don't believe putting people in prison actually helps society apart from a number of extreme situations or people, it is also acutely true that certain jobs are invested with an enormous, almost ridiculous, degree of power over the regular citizen. Being a policeman is one of those jobs.

The kinds of words that got this person into trouble - whether on or off-duty - should be of great concern to the public and should never be overlooked or excused as long as they still perform their job. Policemen are people and people make mistakes, of course; but whilst some mistakes are excusable, this type should not be.

Should an individual with no significant power over others invested in them say the same things, I agree that they should not be jailed for saying them.

Imagine your house is on fire, everything you own is burning down, and your child is stuck inside. You call the fire department, and learn that the firefighter dispatched to you believes children are so annoying they should all die, and that saving them is an inconvenience. You learn that he's communicated with people he'd much rather save a TV or laptop than a child.

In that situation, would you trust that firefighter to do his job effectively? Would you trust him to save your child, and to make every effort to do so? Or would you think he's about to let your child die, because he's a terrible person, and wonder which other firefighters would have let your kid die that you didn't know about?

That's why he can be jailed for words: because he's a public servant whose words proved he would not serve the public effectively in emergencies, which lends itself to doubting whether other public servants would do the same. Jail/prison serves several purposes, one of which is to act as a deterrent to behavior which harms others; this behavior did just that, and worse if it would lead people to hesitate calling for help in an emergency, because they're not sure the help would come fairly.