Admitting that the state police had made "some mistakes", West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Wednesday urged people not to brand them as bad but praise their good work instead.
"No matter how much good they (police) do, if they commit even a slight wrong, people criticise them and ignore the good they do," Banerjee said here at a state police programme.
"Good deeds should be praised and wrongs should be condemned, but it is highly unacceptable that people often ignore the good and brand the police as bad by citing only their follies," she said.
She said police firing in Nadia district last month which claimed a life and police action against villagers in Birbhum district in which over 30 people were injured were "mistakes".
"Barring these two incidents, can anyone point out any wrong police have done? They work in rain, fire and all kinds of adverse situations. When they do something good, people should praise them," she said.
She also highlighted the "embarrassing" low strength of police and blamed the erstwhile Left Front government for the lack of modernisation, which the force badly needs.