By Marc Neil-Jones

PORT VILA, Vanuatu (Vanuatu Daily Post, Jan. 12, 2008) - Crime is now getting seriously out of control in and around Port Vila and the Minister of Internal Affairs must take action before it is too late and Vanuatu descends into the same problems of lawlessness facing Papua New Guinea.

Murder and sexual assault is rapidly increasing and theft and break-ins with assault and violence becoming common. Burglaries are reaching epidemic proportions and police cannot control it. More and more expatriates are quietly getting guns for protection and unless the Lini government acts quickly, the situation will get progressively worse as nothing is being done about urban drift and police are undermanned and under financed.

The latest senseless rape and murder of a gentle, elderly, retired expatriate woman along Devils Point Road which has become a major target for thieves over the past 12 months has angered the expatriate community who are demanding action and improved security.

Mele village needs to take action before investors start pulling out.

These problems can be overcome quite simply by setting up a strong boom gate with large speed bumps made from cement 20 metres before and after the gate located before Tanna Coffee. All vehicles using the Devils Point Road are recorded by the security when they stop. They need a telephone that residents can call in anything suspicious in the area. Anyone stealing from houses will need a vehicle or a canoe or boat to transport the stolen goods. A boom gate and speed bumps will stop vehicles and cut down crime.

One answer is to follow the lead set by Rabaul police in Papua New Guinea who faced problems through lack of manpower to handle rapidly escalating crime and prison escapees similar to Vila. About 12 months ago they set up a Reserve Police force of around 30 volunteer expat and Asian Rabaul residents who underwent 3 months training in police work and who possessed licensed firearms.

Reserve police in Rabaul have since very successfully assisted regular police on night patrols to apprehend "raskol" criminals, escapees and drug dealers. Rabaul police are very pleased with the results as the Reserve Police do not have ‘wantok’ problems. A community spirit has developed using the Reserve force as people give them information readily. Vanuatu has enough residents with security, police and army backgrounds including an ex members of the British SAS to draw from and Police Reserves can patrol areas where the majority of break ins occur such as Tassiriki, Malapoa, Bellview, Elouk and Devils Point Road.

This should be looked at urgently for Port Vila. One major area of concern is the lack of police prosecutions for theft and burglary. More than 95 percent of prisoners are in for sexual assault crimes, not theft. The reason for this is simple. Few are getting caught. Why? Because police are reliant on eye witnesses and people coming forward with information to apprehend criminals.

Why more than 27 years after Independence do our police have no fingerprint analysis available to them? We do not have a large population and it would be easy to use fingerprint ID to be taken for voter identification and to prevent somebody voting twice. Then the government would have a fingerprint database that would make solving crimes through fingerprint swabs at crime scenes much easier.

Fingerprints collected at a crime scene, or on items of evidence from a crime, can be used in forensic science to identify suspects, victims and other persons who touched a surface. Fingerprint identification emerged as an important system within police agencies in the late 19th century, and has served all governments worldwide during the past 100 years to provide accurate identification of criminals. No two fingerprints have ever been found identical in many billions of human and automated computer comparisons. Fingerprints are the very basis for criminal history foundation at every police agency – except Vanuatu and other small Pacific islands.

Fingerprint technology has evaded Vanuatu. Why? This a major problem now as stealing from houses is easy for burglars as police can’t take fingerprint evidence. They know they can get away with it if nobody sees them or dobs them in to police. How much would it cost to introduce? If Australia is serious about improving the efficiency of the Vanuatu police force why have they not assisted with a fingerprint database and using fingerprints as evidence of crimes?

We urge Minister Natuman and the Vanuatu government to take immediate action and consider these ideas to combat crime. Otherwise in a few years time you may find investment and tourism will dry up and people will be living in fear. Make no mistake Vila crime is getting out of control and the police need help quickly. The government must stop talking, stop making excuses, stop pretending things will get better and start doing something quickly otherwise Vila will become a paradise for criminals.

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