Bougainville K45m police plan to boost services

BOUGAINVILLE’s K45 million police plan will begin in earnest.
The Bougainville Police Service (BPS) is embarking on a major re-structuring exercise that will be implemented over a term of 10-12 years.
A report released by Bougainville Assistant Commissioner of Police Thomas Eluh said the plan had been divided into four phases.
The plan was aimed at providing Bougainville with proper policing service.
Eluh, an experienced police officer with Royal PNG Constabulary (RPNGC) for more than 30 years, was adamant that a well-resourced police service would be able to deliver effective policing work in the
region.
“The current resources cannot handle the entire region especially with guns still in the community.
“More manpower is needed.
“There is no command-and-control,” Eluh said.
The restructure project will beef up police human resource and infrastructural capacity for effective delivery of policing services.
It also aims at addressing major components of manpower, housing, police station and posts, transport,
communications, information technology, and community auxiliary police.
The plan had been endorsed by the Autonomous Bougainville Government.
The first phase of the plan had been approved by the joint supervisory meeting in Port Moresby in August.
That phase will require K6 million to implement, and has been approved for funding by the national government in its 2011 budget.