ACP: Crimes usually committed in towns on rise in districts

By BRADLEY MARIORI
LAW and order problems including rape and armed robbery which are crimes usually committed in urban areas are on the rise in Morobe’s districts, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Northern divisional command Peter Guinness says.
He said when law and order issues occurred in isolated areas, it was hard for police and also hard for complainants to lay formal reports.
ACP Guinness said this during a reservist intervention programme jointly hosted by the Morobe government and police.
He said law and order issues was rising in districts and it was difficult to attend to complaints, preserve crime scenes, gather reports and other police work.
He said having reservists in the districts improved the police force’s ability to attend to complaints and crimes.
“The police recruitment drive has stopped,” he said.
“And with the reservists, we will be taking in grades 10s and 12s and train them to carry out police duties.
“They will also support village court magistrates and peace officers to enforce the law in communities. We will not only set up reservists but we can also install communication systems to help monitor issues.
“I will make sure there is command and control and they will be trained and will execute orders from the top-down.”