Acting Deputy Commissioner of Operations Edmund Sikua has assured the community that the rate of serious home invasions is not increasing and ex-patriots are not being specifically targeted.
Acting Deputy Commissioner Sikua was responding to an article that was written in the Solomon Star on Friday 7 March 2008."There have been a number of burglaries where property has been stolen throughout Honiara this year. These burglaries have occurred in government offices, businesses and some houses.
"However, there have only been a very small number of home invasions of recent times where threats have been made," he said. "Police agree that home invasions are very serious crimes but we wish to inform the community that these types of break-ins are rare and not occurring as often as suggested in the article on Friday. In fact, there have only been two reported recent cases of this to police," he said.
Investigators and the Police Forensic Unit have attended the scene of two home invasions that occurred in the last two weeks to collect evidence and believe they are close to identifying the men responsible for the crimes.
"Police has intelligence and some evidence that points to a particular group of men and we are making all possible enquiries to confirm their identity and then apprehend the men responsible," he said.
Detectives from Central CID have recently arrested men responsible for burglaries in January and February including the man responsible for the Taiwanese Embassy Office burglary.
Police urge anyone that has information on the home invasions or any other burglaries to contact CrimeWatch number 999.