Wrong to put the blame on Baki

Letters, Normal

I REFER to the letter “Baki’s integrity at stake” (Feb 16) by “Frustrated citizen” of Port Moresby which stated that the integrity of the police service was at stake and that Police Commissioner Gari Baki is to be blamed for this.
The writer and other critics have been unfair on the commissioner as a person and the constabulary as a whole. The writer claims Mr Baki is not being firm on issues of national security because, as he puts it, Mr Baki seems to fear his masters than doing what his hard working commanders are currently doing.
On what ground did the writer make such a wild and baseless accusation? 
I would like to remind the writer that the laws of the land state that a person is innocent until proven guilty by the court, not in the media. Since the robberies allegedly committed by William Kapris and his recapture, rumours have spread like wildfire about the alleged involvement of a number high profile public figures. 
These information need to be properly investigated and authenticated before any arrests can be made. 
This is normal police process. Mr Baki is equally, if not more concerned, about getting to the bottom of the case without destroying anyone’s credibility and standing in the process.
The writer must appreciate that it is Mr Baki who appointed the “hard working commanders” and gave them the leadership, moral support and resources for them to produce the positive results thus far. 
Mr Baki made a sound strategic decision that has produced the desired results and he must be commended for such foresight and decisiveness.
The writer goes on to question why Mr Baki has cut down on the scale of operation to recapture the Bomana escapees.   As Mr Baki explained previously, the situation warrants an intelligence-driven operation as opposed to a manpower-driven operation. 
It will be appropriate to use 500 men if the escapees are known to be hiding in a specific location, but senseless and a waste of resources if we do not know where they are.
In the end, it was a 10-man team which recaptured Kapris. 
This small team, supported by a good intelligence gathering network and a cooperative public, has recaptured many prison escapees and will continue to do so. 
Mr Baki, as head of the RPNGC, is providing the leadership and will continue to support his men and women to achieve the desired outcomes.
The writer claims Mr Baki forced detectives who were interrogating Kapris to take him to Bomana without letting Kapris tell who the politicians are. 
Again, this is not true as Mr Baki did no such thing. 
The decision to take Kapris to Bomana was made by policemen engaged in the operation at that time. 
The reasons were that the Boroko police station was not secure and part of it was condemned by the Health authorities.   Mr Baki was briefed about this after Kapris was safely locked up in Bomana.
Mr Baki is an experienced police officer who has given more than 35 years in life in protecting and serving the people of Papua New Guinea. 
It is unfair and unfortunate that an ignorant and uninformed person such as the writer has seen fit to question Mr Baki’s integrity.
One hopes that common sense and fair play will prevail at the end and that Mr Baki is given due recognition for his dedication to people and country, instead of unfair and baseless accusations.

Supt Dominic Kakas
Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary