National Member of Parliament MP David Diaz Ximenes said current police patrols by car are not effective because they only patrol the main streets and do not go into the neighbourhoods.
The MP added that car patrolling will not solve issues because all they are going is checking the general situation.
“It’s not good and not effective because they provide security only indirectly in the neighbourhoods. They are providing security to other polices officers who work in the street at at the police posts,” said MP Ximenes at the National Parliament, Dili.
“For instance if a fight breaks in a community and there is a fight in a neighbourhood; once they hear the police sirens they stop fighting. Once they leave the fighting resumes. So these patrols do not solve problems,” he added.
MP Ximenez urged the national police PTNL Commander to instead put officers at the police stations and in street corners to control any situation that might result in a flight or conflict.
In response to the issue, the second general commander of, Commissioner Faustino da Costa said his units are making an effort to increase the volume of human resources by placing the police at posts in every neighbourhood.
“We are checking how we can allocate more officers in the municipalities and how to recruit more personnel,” said commissioner Costa.
