Police in West New Britain (WNB) province have given the green light for normal business to commence today after a Security Meeting with Police and Senior Provincial Government officials was convened yesterday to discuss ways forward in tackling the law and order issues in the Province.
Provincial Police Commander, Superintendent Peter Barkie gave assurance to the people of WNB that everything should be back to normal today. He mentioned that two main focus areas that the police will looking into is the protection of state assets and the people.
“The Major concern is our ability to protect the town particularly the vital assets and the general population in town. We told Provincial Officials that yes we can, but at this stage, we are outnumbered and we need assistance.”
After a huge police effort to maintain normalcy in the Kimbe town in the early hours of yesterday morning following the looting of a BNBM shop, Barkie has now bolstered his forces with reinforcements from East New Britain and Port Moresby, who arrived in the province yesterday afternoon.
Apart from that, measures have been taken to ensure the safety of the general public after hours, with a curfew set in place from 8pm to 5am in the morning. This will go on for the next two months.
“This is to control people’s movements after hours because we see that our youths, young people particularly criminal elements, tend to operate after hours.”
Meanwhile, the search for the Lakiemata Correctional Facility escapees is still ongoing, but police have anticipated their movements and will be on the lookout moving forward.