The Morobe Provincial Police Command with the support of the police department are working in partnership with Huon District to set up a surveillance centre to combat sea piracy.
The centre will be located in the Morobe patrol post area.
On Saturday, a three-man team comprising Morobe Police Commander, Chief Superintendent, Augustine Wampe, ACP for Northern Region, Peter Guinness, and the Huon District Administrator travelled to the area.
The command is now taking positive steps to combat sea piracy.
It takes about three hours on a boat to reach the Morobe Patrol Post from Lae, and within this time criminals can take advantage of the lack of police presence to rob passengers travelling by boat.
The provincial command has two boats and are now making arrangements for four officers to be deployed at the outstation.
Many of the public servants who were sent to work in the area left due to law and order problems in the community. The lack of police manpower in the area is also responsible for the high number of law and order issues.
The new surveillance centre boosted with police officers will help deter crimes from happening, as well as restore public confidence in the community.
In the last 12 months, piracy cases have risen with at least two incidents reported to police every week. Many of the coastal villagers have fallen victim.
However, the limited capacity and resources is making police work more difficult to crack down on sea piracy.
