By Rachael Shisei – EM TV, Madang
Madang Provincial Police Commanders Assistant and staff officer, Senior Sergeant Dumop Gagege, has declared that the province’s crime rate is increasing.
Regular talks have been held between Senior Sergeant Gagege and Traffic Officer in Charge, Senior Constable Frank Makora, and the Welfare Officer in Charge, Sergeant John Anthon, on a daily basis, over the escalating crime rate.
He says, this is so that they are all on the same page of what is going on, and discuss how to go about enforcing law and order in their operations. Gagege strongly believes that more needs to be done to combat crime in the province and also raised concerns over the conduct and behavior of police personnel.
“Police officers getting training is one thing, making sure they don’t lose focus and perform their duties effectively is the other vital step that must be done.
“The crime rate in Madang has escalated from bad to worse and is too unpredictable.”
Mr Gageg said the crime rate has escalated to a state where both the police and the criminals are firing shots at each other, increasing the number of accidental deaths in the last four months this year.
“It’s not only the public that has gone crazy with the criminal offences; some police officers have also overstepped the border.”
“Intensive trainings do take place up to six weeks every year but the trained officers are not being assessed and monitored, and that is a serious step that needs to be taken to complete the process of effective policing”, added Gageg.
Provincial Police Commander, Sylvester Kalaut, was not available for comments.
