by Martha Lois – EM TV News, Lae
Lae City has seen an increase in armed robberies and stolen motor vehicles, with criminals then using stolen vehicles to commit other crimes.
Acting Metropolitan Commander, Timothy Pomoso, said the rise in crimes could be blamed on lack of manpower within the force, with criminals taking advantage of this.
These recent crimes, rather concerningly, have been well planned.
The armed robbery at Raumai 18 LTD on Wednesday, October 14 at around 3pm, where suspects got away on a boat from DCA beachfront, is an example of police lacking resources to pursue suspects on water in order to apprehend criminals.
“They are capitalising on limited police capacity and are one step ahead of us because of the internal problems we have in terms of man power and resources.
We are not effectively providing police presence in Lae; we only provide police presence during the day and not in the night,” said Pomoso.
Lae Police are advising residents to take extra precautions when moving around town.
