Serve and protect -- those are the two things, above all else, that we expect our local police and courts to do for us. Most of us go through life trusting that when our rights are violated, our justice system will fix it. But rights are sometimes violated, and sometimes, police and courts are too slow to stop it. And that seems to be what happened to customers at Tanfastique Tanning Salon, 159 S. Garner St.

Tanfastique's owner, Ron Hanslovan, was charged March 24 with invasion of privacy and possessing instruments of crime after he allegedly viewed tanners through peepholes found in his office.

Police began investigating Hanslovan in early February, but charges were not filed until seven weeks later.

Why did the investigation take so long? According to court documents, the majority of evidence was collected within the first week of the investigation -- including the office computer, seized Feb. 4, which police did not search for another five weeks. What were police waiting for? We may never know.

The investigation lasted a total of seven weeks, and in those weeks -- when police have said they acted "as quickly as possible" -- what did they do to ensure that any possible spying stopped?

Absolutely nothing. Police admit their failure to warn customers of the investigation, or to monitor Hanslovan, because he has a "right to privacy," and because watching him without probable cause would be considered "unlawful intrusion."

But while those who are accused of crimes have rights, victims do too, and especially in a case such as this, it is the police department's duty to exercise every legal means to protect those rights.

Police had the legal ability to monitor Hanslovan in that time; all they needed was a court order allowing surveillance equipment. But police did not get that court order, and instead, Hanslovan very well could have continued directing people into the room adjacent to his office during those seven weeks. But, honestly, who can blame police for taking this case so lightly?

Their officials have said it was not their job to "baby-sit" Hanslovan during the investigation, and the assistant district attorney has said the case is not important because it is only an allegation of a misdemeanor. There is no one person to blame in this case, but there is obviously some flaw in the system -- whether it is people, policy or both -- that left police take seven weeks to file these charges while the suspect went unchecked.

Regardless, though, someone let the public down, and that someone needs to be held accountable. Many women are asking what their law enforcement officials did to protect them, and the only answer they are getting is "nothing."