Police, people do the right thing

 ALEX Songi will serve five years in jail for aiding and abetting criminals. 

He was charged and found guilty by the Lae District Court this week of providing a haven for the men responsible for the death of a security manager last Wednesday in Bumayong. 

Songi’s judgment should serve as a warning to anyone in the community that sheltering or hiding criminals (especially those wanted for violent crimes) is unacceptable. 

The law, it seems, takes a very dim view of individuals guilty of this, regardless of the circumstances. 

Songi did admit to having in his possession a homemade gun that he claimed belonged to one of the alleged killers but he should have realised the minute he got involved with people of that ilk he was taking a big risk. 

Last month saw the killing of the Papua New Guinea’s most wanted law-breaker in recent times, William Nanua Kapris, after more than two months on the run. 

It would appear that Kapris would have needed some help from people in the community to stay concealed but his luck ran out and he paid the price in full for a life of crime. 

Will those who helped the convicted bank robber and murderer evade the law for so long be punished? 

We hope so. We hope too that the police complete their investigations into Kapris’ escape and subsequent killing, and properly close the case. 

There could well be more to this saga in relation to Kapris’ initial allegations when he was first captured and jailed, and therefore an inquiry into his death an all the issues surrounding it should be fully investigated. 

The police force have long struggled for credibility in Papua New Guinea and although we applaud their efforts to keep the peace and ensure all kinds of crime is kept to manageable levels there is still so much more to be done. 

Two reports this week highlight the need for more scrutiny on the force. 

Five police officers based in Lorengau, Manus, and assisting with security for the soon-to-be expanded and upgraded asylum seeker detention centre, were charged with murder. 

They were alleged to have had direct involvement in the death of a Lorengau man. 

He was reportedly beaten up by a group of policemen after they arrested him for being drunk and disorderly. 

In the other incident of police misconduct, a female police officer in Mt Hagen has brought assault charges against her husband, a police officer. 

Sergeant Susan Mondia chose to speak out after being struck by her own spouse at the risk of further tarnishing the force’s reputation. 

Last week police officers attached to the Dog Unit at McGregor Barracks, outside Port Moresby, allegedly beat professional boxer Rickson Yamo at Gordon’s Market after he intervened on behalf of a relative who had a mobile phone taken off him. 

Earlier this year reserve police officers manning an illegal roadblock along the Chimbu section of the Highlands Highway fled into the night after they flagged down a vehicle carrying a provincial police commander from one of the highlands provinces, only realising their mistake at the very last minute. 

This may sound comical to some but what they were actually doing was far from legal. 

It is cops like these that give the force a bad reputation. But these instances are not the exception to the rule; on the contrary, this seems to be what is expected. 

That is not right. Something needs to change in the PNG Royal Constabulary. 

The kind of recruits taken in and the quality of training they receive must be improved significantly. 

There are too many high school dropouts being taken into the force. This is the wrong type of person to be given the responsibility of upholding the law; they are simply not qualified. 

The minimum requirement to become a police officer must be lifted and testing should be more stringent.  

In saying this there are obvious impediments that affect our ability to effectively police the streets in our cities and towns, villages and rural communities. 

The equipment, facilities, conditions of our law enforcers must be improved if they are to have the backup necessary to go after the bad guys (blue and white collar alike) and keep the peace. 

When will all this take place? As soon as possible we hope, because for a country the size of PNG, law and order is paramount.