Mixed response to bounty offer

THE K10,000 reward offered for information leading to the recapture of escapee William Kapris has evoked a mixed response from the public.
The bounty was offered by the police department last week for the recapture of the accused bank robber.
Some said the bounty was too low while others said it was too high.
Those who said it was low backed up their statement with the claim that it was “unwise spending by the state” that would be counterproductive.
“People and families would harbour their relatives. The risks involved in the form of reprisals were greater than the amount,” a computer programmer said.
Another said: “The people will want this form of policing to continue in future. So if there are escapes, people will not report escapees until there is a bounty.
“We are making people lazy to be part of the solution, from now on I believe people will think of being paid before they assist in the recapture of any escapee,” said a working mother.
“Why put K10,000 on Kapris’ head, when me and my family are bearing the toll as road users in the pothole city? This money could have been used to fix the everlasting pothole problem of Lae,” said a frustrated father.
Those who supported the idea of a bounty called for an increase on top of the initial K10,000, in order to see more people assisting police.
“Kapris is now the most infamous man in the land. Increase the amount to K50,000, and definitely you (police) will have a higher chance of catching Kapris,” said a long time Lae resident.
Another resident in Port Moresby described the K10,000 reward as a “joke”, saying Kapris was wanted over robberies in which millions of kina were stolen, and the amount should be increased to at least K100,000.
While these people have different opinions, they all agree that all jails around the country should be upgraded and the Government must engage in an aggressive recruitment drive to replace the ageing CS workforce.