New Ireland needs young policemen, says Mindi

Youth & Careers

NEW Ireland needs new and younger police officers because about 80 per cent of its existing force is already 45 years old or older, according to provincial police commander John Mindi.
He said this while noting that the province’s social structure was conducive for police work despite a rising trend in serious crimes this year.
“New Ireland society is conducive for law enforcement and it is still a very good society despite some worrying cases that came up this year. For law enforcement we need more capacity and that has been discussed at different levels.
“We have a close relationship with the Government and other stakeholders,” Mindi said.
“At the moment we have 123 officers minus some that have left but we are dealing with the cases of those who’re absent without leave so the number is about 113. Generally it is not enough.
“We have an aging workforce and we need young officers to come in and to run with policing here. Our workforce is probably about 70 to 80 per cent above 45 years but we do have a committed workforce.
“We are dealing with those cases of absence without leave and we want to have them back in the province.  With the election and all of those major things there was a concentration on operational matters and now we are going back to administrative matters to sort ourselves out in-house.”
Mindi also noted that the majority of crimes in the province this year were related to home-brewed alcohol and drugs.