Take a good look at gold police

MANY were surprised last week to read about Finance Minister Rainbo Paita talking about the “gold police” operating in Papua New Guinea.
This seemed like a completely new idea, possibly by geniuses who work with Paita and his team.
They are starting on something that even our Founding Fathers never thought about where a unit or division in the police force will specifically on the gold trade.
Sources online stated that there indeed is a gold stealing detection unit (GSDU) in Australia.
The GSDU was originally based in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia, in 1907 when gold theft was rife in the region.
So, if PNG is to have its own gold police, who are they going to investigate?
Is it going to be the illegal miners at Porgera or people who are smuggling gold from PNG to other countries?
If they are not going to carry guns, how will they protect themselves if they are threatened by gold thieves?
Officers of the GSDU in Australia are fully equipped, including having their own firearms.
Such information must be shared by Minister Paita.
As observed in media reports last week, the gold police in PNG will have a team of reserves working in the police force.
Some of us are asking: Why engage reservists? Why can’t the members of the gold police be selected from among the commissioned officers who are highly-educated, possibly those with university degrees.
The GSDU in Australia has six detectives, which means they are highly-trained and possibly received the best police training.
This concept of gold police in PNG must engage the best in the police force, not a group of reservists who could be doing this as a part-time job, as reservists in PNG often do.
That special police unit must be engaged full-time. It cannot be left to reservists.
This plan by Minister Paita still has some big issues that must be addressed, including the selection of the members of the gold police. They cannot be reservists.
Gold is an important trade commodity and must be monitored by the best officers in the land.

Thomas Hukahu