Someone mentioned this on the forum somewhere. Please move to the right topic. Thanks.
The Independent Newspaper wrote:Zen and the art of enforcing law and order
Independent, The (London), Sep 28, 1999 by Justin I'Anson Sparks in Amsterdam
IT MAY seem surreal to imagine a British Bobby laying aside his helmet and assuming the lotus position in an attempt to attain deeper knowledge and a oneness with the world, but in Amsterdam that is exactly what has been happening.
More than a third of the 5,500-strong police force that keeps law and order in Amsterdam, have been regularly attending spiritual courses at a local branch of the Academy of Brahma Kumaris - a quasi- religious cult founded in India during the 1930s.
Inner members of the cult are required to meditate every five hours, night and day, and to refrain from sex. While the police are not expected to attain such dizzy heights of self-denial, they are encouraged to try their best.
As part of a course known innocuously as "Positive Thinking", officers are encouraged to lead a more spiritual life, to meditate, and to moderate as best they can their personal addictions - whether they be sex, alcohol, marijuana, or simply a penchant for chocolate.
Amsterdam's police force has never been prisoner to orthodoxy. Officers have everything from special off-road motorcycles to mountain bikes with which to pursue their criminal foes, and they recently tried to create an elite "inline-skating" unit for rapid response to street crime. For several months officers could be seen across the city centre, tentatively trying to work their beat on skates, while intermittently tottering off balance and grasping at lampposts.