By Margot Staunton, RNZ Pacific senior journalist
Police in Papua New Guinea say the country’s overrun courts and prisons are behind mass breakouts from police custody.
Chief Superintendent Clement Dala made the comment after 13 detainees escaped on Tuesday in Simbu Province, including eight who were facing murder charges.
Dala said an auxiliary policeman who had the keys to a holding cell at Kundiawa Police Station is also on the run.
Police are investigating a claim by local media that he is the partner of a female escapee who was facing trial for murder.
Six police officers on duty at the time have been suspended for 21 days while investigations continue.
“The auxiliary officer is not a recognised police officer and should not have had the key, but it appears he was helping the sole police officer on cell duties,” said Dala, who is the acting assistant commissioner for three Highlands provinces.
Dala said it appeared the auxiliary officer wandered off for a meal and left the cell door open at the entrance to the police station.
“He may have played a role in assisting the escapees, but we are still trying to find out exactly what happened.”
‘Probably hiding somewhere’
“If we find it was deliberate then he will definitely be arrested. He is probably hiding somewhere nearby and we’ll get to him as soon as we can,” he said.
As of yesterday, none of the escapees had been caught. Police are relying on community leaders to encourage them to surrender.
But this could take a month or longer and police fear some could reoffend.
He said the police have previously been told not to use auxiliary officers in any official capacity as they were community liaison officers.
“This is a symptom of our severe staff shortages, but I have reissued an instruction banning them from frontline duties,” he said.
Dala said PNG’s courts and prisons were completely overrun, and this was the main reason detainees in police custody escape.
Up to 200 people on remand
He said on any given day there could be up to 200 people on remand in police cells under his command and many brought in weapons and drugs.
“We have different cells for different remandees, but if we are overcrowded we have to keep prisoners in the main corridor, especially those who have committed minor crimes,” he said.
Dala said some remand prisoners were being kept in police holding cells for more than a month.
He said the police had faced a lack of political will to deal with severe staff shortages, a lack of training across the force and outdated infrastructure.
This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.
