Address police brutality: Paita

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Police brutality is an ongoing issue that has made headlines locally and internationally and should be addressed, says Finschhafen MP Renbo Paita.
Paita told Parliament that police brutality was becoming a daily occurrence and many people in the country were afraid of police officers.
“I’ve seen it happening, we all have,” he said.
“Though Parliament has always discussed it and has tried to address it, it is still an ongoing issue.”
“Police are supposed to be the shield but they have become like the sword and people are afraid of them.”
Paita also called on the Police Minister Jelta Wong to tell Parliament if his ministry had any plans to address the ongoing problem.
He said that it was time for the police force to regain the public’s trust in them.
However, Wong said that he and Police Commissioner Gari Baki were still working on getting in place a set of guidelines for police officers to follow.
“We have also put in a lot of money into the police internal affairs so that rogue police officers can be prosecuted,” Wong said.
“I want to assure you all that there will be zero tolerance on police brutality.”
Wong said that once the guidelines were finalised and drafted, he would present them in parliament.