Police will not be bullied

POLICE in Lae city have been on their toes in recent weeks because of the wave of armed hold-ups, especially targeting big
businesses, and other serious crimes.
They have had a deadly game of hide-and-seek with some of the city’s most wanted criminals and so far seem to have held the upper hand.
Last weekend there was another exchange of gunfire with criminals along the Miles area outside of the city centre.
In earlier confrontations, at least two of those known criminals were killed and one of their hideouts in a city suburb was raided and an assortment of weapons uncovered.
For the suspected criminals to die in the manner they did – without having their day in a court of justice – is a tragedy and one can understand the emotions by their friends and family members.
Police officers, under their normal course of work, understand that and will do everything within their power to avoid such loss of life.
But there are instances when they have no choice but to meet fire with fire so to speak.
Criminals and those sympathetic to them must be wary of the risks involved in what they have elected to do.
So when criminals like those in Lae’s West Taraka threatened members of the police force, they must in turn expect the harshest retribution possible when justice (sometimes crude justice) eventually catches up with them.
Lae metropolitan commander Anthony Wagambie Jnr reported recently that following the raid on a criminal hideout at West Taraka and the shooting of one of the criminals, police received threats from members of the gang who had fled from police.
Following the recent threats to police, the West Taraka police station was burnt down.
Police arrested five men over the burning down of the building and the five are believed to be part of a group who had chased away the community leaders looking after the police station at night.
Police believe the incident on Monday night could have been done to avenge the shooting of two criminals at West Taraka.
If there is truth in this, the act should be condemned in the strongest terms.
No one, not in the least law-breakers, should be allowed to intimidate police and get away with it.
Lae Lord Mayor Koim Trilu Leahy has strongly condemned the action of arsonists who burnt down the police station.
Leahy says he fails to understand why people would set fire to a vital facility from which a vital government service – providing security and order in the community – would be torched down.
This is the second police station in Morobe which got burnt down in a matter of weeks.
Last month, the Mutzing police station in Markham got burnt down and an inmate held overnight was killed.
He believes those responsible do not belong in the community.
For their own good, the residents of West Taraka must now cooperate with police and round up those responsible for burning down the police station.
It is quite easy for the metropolitan commander to withdraw police services from the community if those services are not appreciated and the State asset there protected and cared for.
However, when that happens the community would be the worst affected when the crime situation gets out of hand.
The West Taraka community should be united in its stand against crime and criminals who are taking refuge there.
The police set-up there is a critical to police work in the West Taraka, the University of Technology, and the nearby institutions and settlements.
That part of the city is a huge area to cover by a small and ill-equipped police force.
The least expected by the few police officers serving them would be cooperation and a sense of appreciation from the community.
They certainly do not deserve any threat or intimidation from law-breakers.
And the community must be seen to be taking a united stand against crime so those who are engaged in it do not feel welcome there.
To demonstrate that, the West Taraka community will have to make way for the rebuilding of the police station, with assistance from authorities like the Lae City Council and the Royal PNG Constabulary.