Officers complete close personal protection training

Youth & Careers

SIXTEEN officers from the Royal PNG Constabulary special services division completed the first close personal protection (CPP) training course last week.
This course is the first of 16 planned training programmes that will assist in establishing a network of capable CPP personnel that can be used in a surge capacity by the National Security Unit to support the delivery of CPP capability during major events and Apec 2018.
Australian Federal Police Detective Inspector and CPP adviser Vince Pannell said as a result of a capability audit commissioned by Commissioner Gari Baki last year, the delivery of Port Moresby based CPP ‘train the trainer’ courses by Australian Federal Police (AFP) CPP trainers, has been facilitated and coordinated by the Papua New Guinea-Australia Policing Partnership.
Pannell said the train the trainer programme has been designed to provide greater capacity to the Royal PNG Constabulary to deliver CPP training and would be an important legacy for the RPNGC leading up to Apec and beyond.
“Delivery of CPP capability development programmes will raise the skills and awareness of the RPNGC National Security Unit in Port Moresby and Asia Pacific Economic Conference  provinces, and other members seconded to the NSU in the lead up to Apec,” Pannell said.
“Of significance, the delivery of the first RPNGC-led CPP course provided a major milestone in Apec preparations, and will further reinforce existing knowledge and skills and augmenting available CPP capability to meet requirements across Papua New Guinea during major events and beyond.”
He said some 240 CPP officers and 50 close protection drivers would be trained in the next 12 months.