Local Officers Would Have Contained Crowd

The Commission of Inquiry into the 2006 April 18 riots has been told that had there been more officers from the Solomon Islands Police Force at parliament that day, they would have contained the crowd.

M-P for West New Georgia Vonavona, Peter Boyers, says the local police force, even without gear, would have been capable of controlling the crowd.

Mr. Boyers was giving evidence to the Commission of Inquiry yesterday at the start of hearings for the year.

He says the local police force could have done this by utilising their social abilities on a professional level to understand and work with the crowd.

The M-P agreed when put to him by Commissioner Brunton that the fact that Participating Police Force personnel in the frontline with gears and riot equipment had further provoked the crowd.

He says there is also a need to re-engage professional human resources for the Solomon Islands Police Force Rapid Response Unit, to respond and contain such incidents even without weapons.