Image: The Omili Police Police Station in Ward One, Lae City
A senior police Constable attached with one of Lae’s suburban police stations is concerned about the limited Police manpower in Lae city.
Acting Police Station Commander of Omili police station, Sam Siari says, they don’t have enough policemen and women to deal with Lae’s current law and order problems.
Senior Constable Siari says more police presence is needed to maintain law and order in Lae where most of the crimes are committed by settlers.
Omili is a suburb in Lae city. It has a resident population of about 6000.
Like any other place where there are many people living in it, it needs a police station to maintain law and order.
Omili has a police station, and it is manned by 9 officers who provide surveillance within the suburb including its nearby communities.
For the 9 officers at Omili, it is already a vast area for them to cover.
The Omili Police were also tasked to extend their surveillance to the Nawaeb and Bundi camp areas after the burning down of their police station in 2012.
Omili’s Acting Police station Commander, Senior Constable Siari says, it is a big area that will need more support, in terms of manpower and a good police post to operate in.
He says this will allow the work of police to be carried out effectively in those suburbs.
Senior Constable Siari believes that most of the petty crimes are committed by unemployed settlers who are residing on customary land, purchased cheaply from traditional landowners.
But despite the limited manpower and resources, Omili’s Acting Station Commander says, they always ensure that a foot-beat patrol is carried out randomly in these areas.
Matthew Wabun, a Law-and-Order chairman in the area also raised similar concerns over the state of policing in the area.
He is calling on the government to renovate the building and bring back police officers into their area.
