Efforts being made to address rise in crime: PM

PRIME Minister James Marape says the increase in the crime rate is because of years of neglect.
Marape said the neglect of the youth in terms of job creation and education opportunities had brought the country to this stage.
“Our government is sensitive to the issues that face us,” he said.
“The problem of restlessness and lawlessness is a result of many years of neglect to the youths.
He said successive governments were responsible for this issue getting to where it is.
“There was a lack of investment in the creation of jobs and opportunities for the youths.”
He added that population growth was outstripping that of the national economy which could not provide the masses with jobs not was the education system able to expand adequately to meet demand.
He said his government was greatly concerned with the lawlessness and crime rife in parts of the country and the general lack of order and they were working to build up capacity of agencies such as police, courts and correctional services to address this issue.
“This is a point of concern. I want to indicate to the country: we are very much concerned that the spread of lawlessness must not get to the rest of the country,” he said.
“We want to confine (crime) to one or two of those hotspots and have a short term address while we work on a long-term address.”
Marape said their long-term solution has been investing in the police and the full law and justice sector.
These efforts included getting 20 overseas judges and magistrates, reviewing much needed laws like the Vagrancy Act, and instructing the Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary to recruit 1,000 new personnel every year until 2029.
The Government was also actively investing in the education and business to try to create jobs and promote small-to-medium enterprise markets.
“We will not fix everything overnight, but work has started,” he said.