Police too wary of court

 By DOROTHY MARK

A SENIOR police officer says prosecution and subsequent punishment for brutality were not actually encouraging  police to carry out their duties effectively.

In fact, it was instilling fear in his officers, he said.

Madang provincial police commander Sylvester Kalaut said there was no protection for his men when they faced brutality charges. 

In many cases his men had been jailed, leaving their families to suffer while they served their terms.

Kalaut spoke of the police fear during a public gathering at Bates Oval after a protest march by the legal fraternity over increasing law- lessness in the wake of an attack on Madang resident judge Justice David Cannings.

“Police sacrifice for others but then they are brought to court for breaching human rights laws and that prevents us from performing our duties to fully satisfy community expectations,” Kalaut said.

He said demand for police was high but the ratio of officers to people was highly disproportionate.

He urged Madang town residents to take pride in their town and work  with police in terms of providing information on criminals and to control criminal activities in their respective communities.

”You see the Rabaul people always take pride of their town, which is why the Rabaul Gurias win every time,” Kalaut said.

He said when people took pride in their town, they would want to keep it safe and make it a better place to live, and so contribute towards preventing crime.

Women’s leader Christine Kombakor urged authorities to strengthen  neighbourhood watch established at Newtown suburb in 1997.

Kombakor said the programme discouraged youths from entering other areas to cause problems.

Governor Jim Kas said people should take the lead to stop crime as it was everyone’s business.