Police lack manpower, says Sika

By ANTOINETTE POIVI
NATIONAL Capital District Metropolitan Supt Silva Sika says police manpower in Port Moresby is an issue.
“With the growing population, we lack manpower. We have about 300 policemen serving the three zones in the city,” he said.
Sika said crimes happened every day and at any time and police officers simply could not cover all hotspots and incident scenes promptly or adequately.
“Logistics and manpower are an issue for us,” Sika said.
He said the public needed to do their part to protect themselves and avoid risks when moving around the city and going about their daily activities.
Sika said police could not carry out 24-hour surveillance on areas or be stationed at one spot permanently because they would need to attend to incidents and emergencies.
When attending to bigger incidents, police officers are supported by other officers from the Mobile Squad, Special Services Division, Dog Unit and Water Police.
“Not all officers are out on patrol. Some are in the offices,” Sika said.
Sika said the ratio of police personnel to residents was unbalanced with law enforcement still vastly undermanned.
And until this was improved, city police had to be employed judiciously.
He nevertheless acknowledged his command for endeavouring to always respond effectively to situations.
“If we had enough manpower, we would be able manage the crime spots and the respective zones better.”
Sika said issues in settlements only became problems when people resorted to violence to resolve conflict and disputes.
He said settlements where places of refuge and residence for many offenders.
Sika urged city residents to practise respect and tolerance, and not take the law into their own hands.