Change recruitment style of forces

Letters

DISCIPLINARY cases within our three disciplined forces are increasingly rapidly.
The cases are more prevalent among new recruits.
If the Government is serious about instilling discipline in our forces, then it should fix the root causes of discipline problems and poor performance.
From my assessment, the root cause is the recruitment of unqualified persons in the streets.
The Government, through the three organisations, should reform all recruitment processes.
The reform should start with grade 12 school leavers applying through the normal education process and not recruitment of over-aged people in the streets.
In that way, corruption and nepotism would be minimised and qualified young people would be selected.
There should be entry requirements just as any other institution in the country.
If a school leaver wants to build a career in one of the disciplined forces then they would apply.
Another reform should be on the training period.
The reform should look at increasing the current six months to up to three years.
How much can they learn in just 6 months?
I guess when they pass out after two or three years, they would be really ready for service.
Finally, reforms should be done on the training materials and subjects.
Subjects should include basics in law, human rights, report writing, investigation and prosecution, command and control, ethics, discipline, protocols and other important subjects.
Nowadays, people fear the disciplined forces more than criminals.

Jordan Murian
Waigani