Bad cops hindering war on crime

 WHEN the law first caught up with convicted bank robber and prison escapee William Nanua Kapris some time ago at a guest house in Port Moresby following a tip-off, he was taken to a field, not a police station. 

That was because the arresting officers had information that a group of policemen were actually trying to help the suspect escape. 

Indeed, the arresting officers were accosted at the same field by another group who demanded that the prisoner be released to them. 

There was a tense standoff in the field between the two groups but the arresting officers would not budge and that is how Kapris ended up in jail in the first place. 

Today, there is a certain rumour circulating that certain members of the law enforcement community know exactly where Kapris is hiding.

Indeed, it is suggested that they might be moving him from hideout to hideout, scouting for him and shielding him from others who are out to arrest him and haul him back to jail.

We have heard other stories of how certain influential prisoners seemed to have more hospital calls than others, of how they were escorted by police or warders to ATMs around town to pick up money and then spend it at bars in the company of their escorts and even dancing the night away before returning to prison in the wee hours of the morning.

Legends grow up around characters such as Kapris and these might be some of them but the stories could also be true. 

For instance, how is it that Kapris and his accomplice have gone to ground in Port Moresby without trace these past few weeks?

The answer might be closer to home than we think.

However, it is apparent that among security force members, there is a growing culture of turning to the other side – siding with the criminals they are sworn to bring to justice.

Today we carry a story about a certain police officer last Sunday storming into the international departure lounge to prevent the deportation of a foreigner who had breached immigration laws and regulations.

Task Force Rausim Alien leader John Bria from the Immigration and Citizenship Services office said the officer entered the international departure lounge at Jackson Airport fully armed and breached airport security by entering the departure area and bypassing the weapons and metal detectors.

The non-commissioned officer brought with him two uniformed policemen and again there was an ugly and public scene, with two groups of policemen facing off each other.

It seems this is not the first time the officer has done this and it appears he has gone into business with the Chinese national.

So again we see police men working at cross purposes – some on the right side of the law and others directly opposite to what they should be doing.

That alone can kill off any force’s effectiveness because every decision the police force takes, every plan it makes, will be passed on to the criminal elements by the bad cops. 

To what extent is the Royal PNG Constabulary infected by this criminal or rogue elements?

Could this debilitating condition be impacting the fight against crime in the country?

Bria also claimed the officer was a business partner of the Chinese man.

This too has become a matter of concern about which the police commissioner himself has often spoken out against in the past.

Too many policemen in uniforms are providing escort duties for businessmen.

Or they are  becoming business partners with businessmen and using their official position to protect those businesses they are involved in.

Often, police contingents conducting a raid on a yard or business premises would be met by armed colleagues who are guarding the premises.

If the Police Department and indeed, any other of the security force institutions, is to progress and perform its constitutional tasks effectively, weeding out the bad ones among its ranks must become the number one priority.