Police brutality, abuse not good for anyone

Editorial

POLICE abuse and brutality are ongoing issues that make newspaper headlines both locally and internationally.
It has a long history and it seems to defy all attempts at eradication.
The problem is national: No police station in the country is known to be completely free of misconduct.
We’d like to see that this situation is not hopeless. Policing has seen progress in some areas.
Today, among both officials and rank-and-file officers, it is widely recognised that police brutality hinders good law enforcement.
Police Minister Jelta Wong last year told Parliament he and Police Commissioner Gari Baki were working on getting in place a set of guidelines for police officers to follow. It is time for that guideline to be made public so the officers and members of the public know exactly what it involves.
Our good minister has inherited a chronic problem and it will be interesting to see how he takes this issue on, being a former reserve policeman himself.
He obviously knows the challenges an officer faces every day, like not having vehicles for officers to conduct patrols, bad pay and lack of resources.
Putting aside their challenges, police are there to uphold law and order in a community, uphold peace and be agents of change.
While many practise their oath while on duty, a few get off tract and they are the ones who have to be toed back into line.
The public should understand that there is a pathway to hold officers accountable for their actions and the people should not be afraid to use it.
All police departments have methods of taking civilians’ complaints about police officers.
Usually those complaints are referred to as internal affairs complaints.
Knowing that it is difficult to win the public’s trust and confidence, some provincial commanders have taken the step to introduce various programmes and operations as a way of showing their community that they are there to help.
Take Lae, for example, where Metropolitan Commander Anthony Wagambie Jnr has introduced foot patrols and a Lae Sector Response Unit, which is arguably the most effective in the country.
Wagambie has capitalised on the popularity of social media to promote this with an RPNGC Lae Metropolitan Command Facebook page which advises and updates the public about what’s happening.
Lae police also have a WhatsApp group linked to an emergency toll free number.
That is going the extra mile to show the community that the police is there to protect and promote peaceful living.
NCDC Metropolitan Commander Perou N’Dranou had made his intention known to conduct regular city patrols to regain public confidence.
If there are leaders who have the vision to make a difference, they should be supported with logistics and funding and that where the minister and commissioner come in.
What good is a grand plan be without funding?