Twenty more riders eyed for Apec job

By MARJORIE FINKEO
POLICE need 20 more traffic officers on motorcycles to meet the 80 needed for escort duties during the Apec Leaders’ Summit in November, says the officer in-charge at Friday’s qualifying of five riders in Port Moresby.
The five officers were part of a group of 12 who started training four weeks ago.
“Seven did not make it,” said Traffic Directorate Acting Chief Superintendent Joe Joseph, who is confident the target will be reached and the team will be ready by the time the first world leader lands in Port Moresby for the summit on Nov 17-18.
The officers are being trained by Australian Federal Police (AFP) with the help of local counterparts on Yamaha 600cc motorbikes.
Esther Kende, the only female trainer in the programme, said it had not been plain sailing, as seen by the high dropout rate of over 50 per cent.
Mental fortitude is the biggest challenge, she said, especially when dealing with police officers who come from different stations.
She said the five officers who graduated on Friday would continue to ride on a regular basis to build up experience and skills.
“Every Wednesdays and Thursdays riders are on the road on a skills programme and they should be OK by October,” Kende said.
The Yamaha 600cc is the third lot of motorbikes received by police since 2015. The first were the Lifan 250cc from China but they were phased out because of difficulties with spare parts. Police then got Yamaha 900cc from Australia, but they were big and tricky to ride.
The latest lot are the Yamaha 600cc donated by Australia for Apec escort duties and police have found them to be the best suited to the conditions and skills level of the local riders.
The Yamaha 600cc are designed specifically for escort duties, and are very different from the faster Yamaha 1200cc Australian police use throughout Australia for patrol and pursuit purposes.
The Yamaha 600cc is slower and steadier to control, said AFP
Detective Inspector Leanne Giraud.
Giraud said the motorcycle course is structured for four weeks where the first two weeks is called controlled environment to take them through safety.
“Safety is the most paramount thing that we do, not just up for the ride but to show that you’re safe that you can be competent to have good road sense,” she said.
She said it was not only about bike safety but having a good road sense and being able ride safely and well.
Joe said that training a motorcyclist was not easy and demanded a strong sense of mental alertness.