By SHEILA LASIBORI
THE Royal PNG Constabulary has shown interest in joining the Pacific boat patrol programme.
PNG is the largest country in the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) but its police force does not have boats although the Defence Force does.
Police Commissioner Gari Baki, who attended the 36th Pacific Region Police Chiefs conference in Auckland, New Zealand, said he needed to get into discussions with police commissioners of fellow MSG countries who are part of the programme.
Mr Baki said there needed to be discussions between the PNGDF and National Fisheries Au-thority who had boats and could assist in border surveillance.
Other Pacific island nations, who have police boats, are Samoa, Federated State of Micronesia and Niue with assistance from Australia.
Meanwhile, appropriate selection processes are being sought by police chiefs in the region for people to take part in peace keeping duties overseas, which is currently being participated by Vanuatu, Fiji and Tonga.
But the conference heard that a major problem experienced by those who go on duties overseas, is how to integrate back to their respective organisations upon return because the experience abroad, especially psychological, was immense that people were affected.
Police commissioners in the region can also communicate with each other during times of disaster under the bilateral disaster management assistance policy.
Pacific transnational crime networking was also discussed.