Readers of The Times will have been appalled yesterday to learn of the murder of Steven Vincent, an American freelance journalist, in Basra on Tuesday, and the injuries to Nouriya Itais, his interpreter, kidnapped with him. Many will also have been deeply disturbed by his description of the police force in southern Iraq, their apparent allegiance to local religious extremists, not the central Iraqi state, and by his suggestion, based on rumour as much as firm reports, that off-duty police in Basra were involved in the assassination of sectarian opponents. Most worrying of all, Vincent insisted that British officials were well aware of what was going on, but chose to tolerate it.

Not all of those who are familiar with Basra today would agree with every word of his account, but many other observers accept a significant proportion of his argument. Even if the existence of a semi-official “death car” is disputable, his concerns about the lack of a sufficiently robust democratic culture in this region of Iraq and fear that not enough is being done to encourage such a sentiment is widely shared. Policy needs to respond to his points. British officials like to commend themselves on their “softly, softly” approach to policing, but not engaging with problems can verge on neglect.

It should be acknowledged, though, that the challenges and difficulties in and around Basra are considerable. The city suffered particularly harshly under Saddam Hussein and there are hundreds of thousands of people with reason to loathe the Baathists and all those associated with them. Religious organisations became an undeclared opposition during these years and the social networks here straddle the Iranian border. Much of the strategic approach in this province: unconfrontational patrolling, engaging the people in Arabic whenever possible and respecting the authority of tribal and religious elders, has improved conditions in this Saddam-ravaged country.

It would be very unwise, therefore, to abandon this blueprint entirely and suddenly rush to engage in what could be perceived as indoctrination. The relationship between religion and the state is not going to be the same in Iraq as in Sweden. The links between Baghdad and other cities in an instinctively federal nation such as Iraq will not be the same as might occur in Britain or France. It will take time for the status of women to change to the extent that is appropriate.

There are, nevertheless, individuals and organisations in Basra and elsewhere in Iraq that strongly favour democratic institutions and the introduction of a pluralist society. A police force that is politically and religiously neutral is an important part of that process. If it is correct, as Vincent charged, that little or no effort is being made to promote these values in police training at present, then that has to be rectified. If in general more can be done to advance a democratic culture, this should be undertaken. Some officials believe, Vincent claimed, that such an attempt to boost democracy would reek of “colonialism”. Democracy is the opposite of colonialism and the antagonist of authoritarianism.