Policing initiative good

 LAE police metropolitan commander Supt Ivan Lakatani says police partnership with the community is progressing well.

“Since October last year, no major crime incidents have occurred in Lae as a result of the community policing work,” he said.

“The progress has been good so far and it is working. The only major incidents reported were the G4s, Brian Bell and Pelgens fires.

“Most crimes in Lae are committed by people in the settlements, therefore our main focus was to establish and re-enforce community policing in all settlement communities.”

Lakatani said police worked in partnership with community leaders and the community to stop the consumption of homebrew and marijuana in the settlements, the root causes of most crimes.

He said once the community policing was well established in all settlements, in-house issues such as the welfare of officers would be looked into.

“In order for police to assist with mobility, working according to police codes and ethics professionally and accountably under the command of the Commissioner, an important aspect is their living environment,” he said.

Lakatani said as part of the police modernisation plans, infrastructure development was a top priority.

Currently housing developments are taking place at Bumbu Barracks.

He said proper accommodation for police officers would boost morale.