by Edwin Fidelis – EM TV News, Kokopo
The towns of Kokopo and Rabaul have gone quiet after police disbanded three criminal gangs which had been carrying out a series of armed robberies in the area.
East New Britain Head of Police, Superintendent Anthony Wagambie Jnr, says public participation had assisted police to arrest these criminals.
Wagambie says the use of mobile phones and social media were key factors that enabled effective public communication during police operations.
“We couldn’t have done the arrests of these criminals with assistance from the public,” he said.
Following these string of armed robberies, the East New Britain police boss on numerous occasions had made special plea to the public to supply information that would lead to the arrest of the criminals.
Much of the credit has been attributed to the use of mobile phones and social media, particularly Facebook and WhatsApp.
“When the public stepped in and assisted us with information on any instances of crime, we were able to move swiftly,” Superintendent Wagambie said.
That use of mobile phones and social media had enabled effective communication between police command, officers on the ground and the general public.
Anyone who has an Internet enabled handset can now report on crime occurrences all around the province, almost in real time.
