Better policing needed for peace

THE continued carping at particular service departments, statutory authorities or disciplined forces is unlikely to achieve desired results.
The National, being responsible to our readers, has mirrored their concerns on issues where performance lags behind reasonable expectations.
We are all well aware that law and order is on the rise in the country with everyone concerned working overtime to have it addressed.
While the churches, non-governmental organisations, donor agencies and international friends are all coming in different capacities to help address this issue, their support though can only stretch up to a certain limit based on their scope of work.
Any place can be transformed easily if law and order issues are addressed adequately to allow a conducive environment for business activities and service delivery.
While some areas have seen improvement, many is still required to eradicate this issue which if not addressed will be an impediment to development.
We accept the need for far-reaching social intervention to correct problems, much of which flow from poor parenting, compounded by the failure of the state to address poverty, public indiscipline, and delinquency over a period of many years.
However, all should understand that just as the social problems took years to fester and become open sores, so too social intervention takes a long time to work.
Also, social intervention cannot prosper in community environs where the law is impotent and criminals rule.
For social intervention to sustainably work, for people to go about their business freely and without fear, for children to go to school unmolested and without being lured by criminals, law and order should rule.
Acting Police Commissioner David Manning says the budget for police next year focused on general duty policing and community policing.
Police made a submission for K420 million and got K380 million, which according to Manning is a big increase since 2010.
In the 2019 budget, police were provided K309million.
We have long acknowledged that the police force, in common with the two other disciplined forces, face problems.
We have echoed police concerns over under-staffing and poor infrastructure.
We have sympathised at the apparent lack of available vehicles and of fuel.
We have supported complaints over the unacceptable standard of accommodation of both single and married police officers.
And we have acknowledged that policemen confronted by suspects armed with superior weapons should on occasion shoot to defend themselves.
The efforts of all former commissioners and commanders in addressing law and order should be commended with the limited resources they had.
Various programmes launched by police and its line agencies to curbing law and order are there but what good is a grand plan be without funding. Here we have leaders who have the vision to make a difference, they should be supported with logistics and funding.
The challenge now goes back to those in authority (the government) on how we expect to see changes when adequate funding is not given.
Maintaining peace and harmony in a country of eight million people from a thousand tribe was not and is not an easy task but could be done through collective efforts from individuals, institutions, business-houses, police and MP’s.
Police presence in the communities would bring an impact and bring about changes
PNG does not want just a police force.
We want a police force that will be effective and accountable and trained, properly disciplined.