Sete: Laws but no order

National, Normal
Source:

By THOMAS HUKAHU

PORT Moresby’s law and order situation needs urgent attention.
“We do have laws but there is no order,”  outgoing NCD/Central commander ACP Awan Sete said when addressing police personnel, including senior officers at a special parade yesterday in Port Moresby.
Sete said the lack of order was due to two factors, lack of resources to combat crime and the people’s attitude.
Sete said the police force was struggling to cope with the demands of society because they operate with very limited resources.
The influx of people to Port Moresby from other centres and overseas has made policing in the city even harder for the under-resourced and outnumbered police personnel.
“Just like some places in the world where there is socio-economic growth, there is a culture of crime and PNG is no exception,” Sete said.
Port Moresby’s crime rate has reached proportions where thugs are mugging people at bus-stops and public places and prostitution and HIV/AIDS were threatening the society, he added.
Young people who leave  school because of school fee problems and other reasons resort to car jacking, armed robberies, burglary, drug peddling and other illegal activities.
He said they did this to survive in a society which had little or nothing to offer.
Sete said that Port Moresby should trial the  Japanese Koban system of setting up police booths around the city which  could be used as a new policing strategy to tackle street crimes.
Sete also commended Police Commissioner Gari Baki and the respective MPs for their continued support during his term.
He was proud to say that the men and women who worked with him were the most experienced officers in the whole Pacific region because of their constant exposure to crime and violence.