David Terry urges police personnel living inside the settlements to fight crime in their communities

By David Terry

I have a house in the barracks but I sometimes prefer living here in Morata settlement because the people in the community appreciate my presence. Within the past few weeks, my community was rocked by violence.

At first a rowdy mob attacked two families at night and burned down their house. I intervened while the house was on fire and arrested two suspects in this arson case. We are grateful that no one was seriously hurt or killed in this melee. Then on Independence eve, a young man was brutally attacked and a family home was damaged by angry relatives of the injured person. I intervened again and prevented the mob from causing further damage to the property.

This matter was attended by Waigani police the next day and we have agreed to settle this matter through peace mediation and compensation on Sunday Sept 22nd at Waigani Police Station. In these two cases, the young men involved were intoxicated with liquor and presumably drugs. As part of measures taken to curb further violence we the community leaders have placed restrictions on liquor bingeing especially among the youth in the community.

Young people consuming liquor and behaving erratically or issuing threats to innocent neighbors in our community will be arrested and charged. I encourage police personnel living inside the settlements to do the same by interracting with the people in your community. We can reduce crime and violence and promote peace and good order if we put some more effort and determination into our work during and after official hours.