Staying safe is priceless

Editorial

POLICE in Lae are trialing two new CCTV cameras – and initial reports show they are working wonders.
Already cases of petty crime have been detected and arrests made near Lae market.
In two days this week, 20 arrests were made – 10 on Monday and 10 on Tuesday.
CCTV cameras monitor the presence and activities of people live in a particular area.
Homeowners and commercial businesses use them for security purposes.
CCTV cameras have the capability to catch criminals live and the videos they produce serve as legal evidence.
CCTV cameras serve two good purposes for police – they are effective surveillance tools and they also act as a deterrent when their presence in particular areas is known, keeping offenders away and thereby preventing crime.
The Chinese government, as part of its aid to PNG during last year’s Apec Leaders’ Summit, installed 200 CCTV cameras along the main routes in Port Moresby.
The police commissioner wants those cameras to remain with police for both security and traffic surveillance purposes .
Four years ago NCDC partnered with G4S Security in a similar project, but that did not work out.
Security is a matter of great concern in Papua New Guinea, with cities and towns increasingly under siege as criminal elements openly go about their business forcing fearful citizens to lock themselves up behind high fences and burglar grills.
Crime affects both personal security and business growth. Shops, for example, lose money when they have to close early because of security concerns. The cost of maintaining security is also costly.
Therefore, any tool that can help police and security officers do their work should be made available.
In Lae, for example, police have been using social media and toll-free telephone numbers to work with members of the community in a city-wide community watch programme. The introduction of CCTV cameras, kindly donated by the Chinese community, has upped the ante on the war on crime.
Lae Metropolitan Superintendent Anthony Wagambie Jr can already see that the CCTV cameras are having a positive impact on the law and order situation.
Lae police should be commended for thinking outside the box to be innovative in their efforts to provide a safer city for citizens.
They are a lesson and an inspiration to the rest of the country. The excuse that police cannot be everywhere no longer holds water because technology can help police have eyes everywhere – or at least where they think the need is greatest.
If Lae can move ahead with the system and gain a positive outcome from it, then what is stopping the rest of the country from following suit?
Is the cost the prohibitive factor?
If that is the case, then what price are we prepared to pay to keep our homes and cities safe?
What price are we prepared to pay for the freedom to walk down the street and not end up in hospital?
What price are we prepared to pay to see our daughters go off to school in the morning and see them come home safe in the afternoon?
Or should we ask, is there a price we are not prepared to pay?
The answer is no.