National Police Agency (NPA) Director-General Wang Cho-chiun (王卓鈞) yesterday said that the police force is experiencing a manpower shortage, especially now that a large number of officers have been deployed to stations and trains on Taipei’s Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system in response to last week’s stabbings on an MRT car.
“Although, the Special Police First Headquarters has 80 officers deployed at Taipei MRT stations and trains to help maintain security, the majority of the officers at the city’s police stations have also been dispatched to the underground system for that purpose,” Wang said during a question-and-answer session at a meeting of the legislature’s Internal Administration Committee.
“In the long run, this will certainly impact the Taipei police force’s ability to carry out its routine assignments, so at this point, the extra security measures on the subway are temporary, but we will see what we can do [in terms of a permanent police presence] by early next month,” he added.
Wang went on to say that 320 officers are set to complete their training next month and 1,667 more in September, adding that they would be sent to “where they are most needed.”
The police presence at MRT stations and trains came after four people were killed and 23 wounded in an attack on Wednesday last week, which also led the Taipei City Police Department to dispatch SWAT officers equipped with MP5 submachine guns to patrol the subway network.
The SWAT deployment met with some criticism as to whether it was really necessary.
“What is a SWAT officer going to do if a random attack occurs again? Is he going to open fire with his MP5? What about stray bullets?” National Taiwan University law professor Lee Mao-sheng (李茂生) wrote on Facebook. “The government is crazy; are there any high-ranking officials who have a brain?”
Independent musician Indie Taiwan also voiced doubts when he saw SWAT officers patrolling an station with submachine guns.
“If a random killer goes around slaughtering people with a knife again, are the officers going to shoot down a few passengers to keep the killer company?” he asked, adding that he worries that a government that makes these types of decisions may not be preventing future tragedies, but making them worse.
In related news, the Criminal Investigation Bureau said that as of 11am yesterday, there have been 18 cases involving 19 people who have threatened to launch random attacks on public transportation systems or public places, all of whom have been interrogated by the police.
Wang said that most of the people who were interrogated made their threats online, with one of the 19 people threatening to kill foreign workers in Greater Taichung. That person has been sent to prosecutors for further questioning.
Wang urged the public to stay calm and refrain from making irrational remarks, adding that: “[The suspect] Cheng Chieh (鄭捷) is not a hero, no one should try to learn from what he did.”
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