The risks of being a police officer have never been greater. The incidents of Monday were a cruel reminder that every time an officer leaves home for duty could be the last time he or she sees their loved ones.

Detective Sergeant Peniamina Perite was brutally shot down by 58-year-old Pokati Tuu on Monday. Just a few hours before that, Tuu had shot and killed another man. The death of the police officer sent shockwaves through the Samoa Police, Prisons and Corrections Services.

It is believed that Det. Sgt Perite was up for a promotion in a couple of weeks and a few days before this incident, he had been involved with training recruits for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.

He was described by many as a respected and dedicated police officer. His bravery was evident when he moved to arrest a man who was possibly armed. We salute you for your bravery and give our condolences to your family.

This incident is a reminder that we need to better protect our police officers. A lot of negativity is usually thrown at cops, but most are hard-working and try their best to keep their oaths and serve the public.

It was a traumatic experience for many officers as they had never experienced losing a colleague in such a manner. Many had never thought that a police officer would be shot in cold blood. It would only be normal if a few police officers were rethinking their careers.

But as the top cop has said, this was an isolated incident. It is good to note that the Samoa Police would now be meeting to navigate their response procedures to such situations. The question of arming police officers is likely to be raised, however, the police commissioner has stated they would not go down this path.

The second option would be to invest in gear such as protective vests. This would raise the safety levels for police officers. There also needs to be a psych evaluation and counselling for police officers who were on the scene. They are traumatised.

This trauma will impact their professional lives and their personal lives as well. The police would have already thought of this, if not then they should.

The death of Det. Sgt Perite is also a reminder of how guns influence crime in society. This would be an appropriate time to call a gun amnesty. There are still too many firearms in the public. Remember the drive-by shooting at Saleimoga and Vailoa.

A top bureaucrat was just convicted of brandishing his firearm at a couple in a road rage. A woman discharged her firearm at a club in Sogi. The death of a policewoman in December 2022, she was allegedly shot at point blank by her partner.

The Savaii man who shot and killed a father and son was jailed recently. Instead of stricter gun control, some politicians are calling for more guns to kill pigs. That is fine as long they are stored as the law states.

However, in recent times more illegal firearms and automatic weapons are being discovered. This is also linked to the meth crisis.

The gun laws in this country are quite clear on how and where guns should be stored and what are the types of guns that can be brought into the country. The key issues here are border security and the ability to bring anything into the country.

There seems to be a large hole in the fence, so to speak, because the amount of methamphetamine being found in the country says there is one and through the same hole, illegal firearms are being brought into the country.

The increasing number of firearms in the country would bring in a need to provide more safety for law enforcement. This means the police would be armed. This is a dangerous precedent because armed police would mean that police could also draw fire if they feel they are being threatened.

The amendments in the gun law and modernising it to deal with the current problems would help but the thing that needs to be immediately done is to find out how these illegal products are coming into the country. There is a need for stronger control of the borders and customs.

Guns portray society as unsafe and one of having a high crime rate. That is not needed, especially when Samoa is being promoted as a tourist destination. People travel to places where they feel safe and with guns out in the open, this will not be able to happen.

The last thing we need is a person walking into a bar or a school with a gun and opening fire.

As it is, one fight at a drinking party results in a series of fights among young men from different villages, what if these youths had access to guns?

There needs to be stricter gun laws and there is a definite need to reduce the number of firearms in the nation.

Safety at work is everyone’s right, even for police officers.