BY TONNY TAWELO

THE SLOGAN on all police vehicles “securing a safer community; to protect and to serve” is pure bullshit. The PNG police are trigger happy and do not have respect for citizens.

To fire a weapon and disturb the peace in a community is a crime but police units - even detaining a pickpocketing youth - will fire a warning shot just to arrest him. Even if the thug does not have a weapon and is running on foot, police personnel never chase on foot but fire weapons first and chase in their vehicles.

No wonder the police are such a potbellied and unhealthy looking bunch. There seems to be no physical exercise apart from the six months induction at Bomana College.

And such unethical conduct makes it no surprise that criminals have emerged from within the police force. There are police officers who have a double pay packet, one for serving the government and the other for serving big organisations.

The experience of travelling the Highlands Highway from Lae to Mount Hagen will enlighten you about police corruption. At every road block set up by police patrol units, the PMV crews can ‘get around’ the officers.

In about half of the PMV’s on the road, either the crew has no permit, the driver no license, the PMV is unregistered or some other offence is committed under the Traffic Rules. Yet the vehicle is allowed to travel seven days a week along the same 100 km route and no spot fine or impounding eventuates.

If there is a problem that needs mediation and you ask the police duty officer to intervene, the response is ka nogat fuel. After paying their wages as a taxpayer, we now have to meet the fuel cost of a police car.

It was on 10 February 2011 at 6am when the police set fire to all the buildings and shelters in Umbopul Village in the Southern Highlands Province. All food gardens, coffee trees and even pig and toilet houses were looted by the law enforcing organisation.

So much for a slogan” securing a safer community; to protect and to serve”.

That operation, termed a “raid” by the police, was not ethical in a civil society. The reason for the raid was the murder of a young police constable serving at the Highway Patrol Base 17 at Kaupena in the Southern Highlands.

Some youths of the community had committed the murder, yet many innocent people also became the victims.

On that fateful day, innocent women and children, elderly people, youths and senior community leaders were made homeless and displaced.

Why? Is it a police law enforcement role to loot in the arrest of the lawless criminals? We have a justice system that is there to decide guilt and punishment.

So much for the slogan about securing a safer community, to protect and to serve. What blasphemy.