Tough penalties for cop killers

THE killing of police officers while in line of duty used to be very rare except when caught in tribal fights and at the scene of an armed robbery.
This trend has now changed to officers being killed at election-related violence, land ownership issues and wanton killings.
The killing of police officers has now reached an unprecedented level that is uncontrolled and undeterred.
Officers losing their lives mostly occurs in the upper Highlands of the Enga, Hela, Southern and Western Highlands, although, few have occurred in other provinces.
Cop killings are the worst in the category of murders because we lose valuable State assets.
Such perpetrators do not deserve to exist in our society, thus, it should be condemned in the strongest terms as possible.
The long arm of the law should not leave a stone unturned.
Such primitive minded people should be punished with brutal force and severe penalties.
As a former cop, I am deeply touched by this recent killing and loss of a young officer in Porgera.
The Government should put its money where its mouth is and fund an elite squad or a Swat team to counter attack such related incidents of tribal fighting that is rife in the Highlands.

Steven S. Palisa