Enact laws to raise standards

Editorial

IF the Government is serious about addressing the concerns on police integrity, then laws must be made to ensure the constabulary recruits university or Grade 12 graduates.
Applicants must score C grade of better in English. Setting a certain GPA (grade point average) could also be a criteria.
Aptitude tests and fitness testing should form part of the recruitment process.
Once a recruit is accepted into the police academy, it should be compulsory for them to participate in classroom and practical instruction.
We want officers who can read and comprehend and write reports.
Far too many cases are being thrown out of the courts because the hand up briefs were not written well or not prepared on time.
Police Minister Bryan Kramer is on the right track with applicants (university graduates) to undergo high-level training with the Australian Federal Police.
And rightly so, if the country plans to train the next batch of police recruits over two years, then unemployed university graduates would fit the bill.
They learn state laws, criminal investigations, patrol procedures, firearms training, traffic control, defensive driving, self-defense, first aid and most importantly computer skills.
One area of concern for magistrates is for police investigators to be attentive and timely in their reports when arresting and charging people as it is causing them inconvenience to remain in custody
Just last week, Magistrate Cosmas Bidar raised his concerns about the handling of serious criminal cases by junior police officers. He was told during a case he was presiding on that the police prosecution was yet to receive the file of a Bangladesh national – charged with four counts of fraudulent uttering.
The case started on June 19, and by Sept 19, three months of the required time for police to conduct investigations had lapsed.
He therefore struck out the matter.
The case was being given to a junior officer to prepare.
Other cases thrown out are due to the arresting officers’ knowledge of the law when placing charges on suspects as it has become a problem because the correct charge was not applied.
Policeman/woman have to be cautious about which Act to charge people under. It’s not simple just locking somebody up in the cells, and then only to find out that they were wrongly charged under the wrong Act.
Things have to get it right from the beginning so it’s not a waste of everyone’s time.
Such negligence by officers is a contributing factor to the public losing confidence in the police force.
Recruitment of the next generation of police officers should be one of the most important functions for the human resources professionals and leaders in the Police department.
Police integrity, or the lack thereof, is a frequent topic throughout media, academia, and all law enforcement organisation.
The current conduct of some police officers has somehow overtaken the good deeds and tarnishing the credibility of the PNG Police Force.
While the law and order issues are on the rise in the country there is also serious discipline and morale problems with the police force.
To be effective in the 21st century, police recruiters must raise the standards on agency diversity, officer education level, and understanding of the values of the next generation of police officer.
In essence, police departments need to recruit police officers like other sectors of the labour market.
The process of recruiting qualified personnel that will uphold and maintain these standards of professionalism is the foundation of any police agency.

One thought on “Enact laws to raise standards

  • Police officers mishandling cases should be penalised as well. Some Officers are being bribed by the suspects to deliberately mishandle cases to enable suspects to get away.

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