Police: Crime rate rising

CRIME rate in Madang is apparently rising fast because police visibility has dropped during the weekends because police vehicles have been locked up by the Madang district officer.
Police officers told The National that they felt unsafe and it was risky to respond to night calls of armed robberies and burglaries even just a few metres from the police station.
A police officer said the vehicles that were donated to Madang police were taken away and locked up at the Madang district office.
“I thought the vehicles belonged to the police because the money that were used to buy the vehicles were from the people and not our local MP’s personal money,” he said.
“If he says that the vehicles are overused, he should help the police service the vehicles and not take them all to his office when the crime rate in Madang is deteriorating fast.”
A resident in the New Town area said burglaries were becoming a daily and nightly nightmare.
“We heard there were five burglaries reported in the area last week,” he said.
He urged the police and the MP to work together because the “locking up of the vehicles” had crippled crime-prevention patrols and quick response to crime outbreaks.
Madang commander Supt Mazuc Rubiang said police were in the midst of investigating the accidents of two police vehicles.
“Police officers continue to perform their duties like they had been doing in the past,” he said.
“We have no share on the police vehicles but only respond to directives from superiors.”
Meanwhile, Madang MP Bryan Kramer, in a report, said that the fleet of vehicles donated to Madang last year were grounded and the keys handed over to the district development authority (DDA) for servicing.
Kramer, former police minister and now Justice Minister, said the DDA and the police were drafting a fleet management system for the vehicles to be assigned to designated drivers.