Maipakai vows to restore discipline

INTERNAL Security Minister Mark Maipakai said the immediate priority in his new post is to boost discipline in the police force.
Maipakai said last Thursday some members of the police force tended to forego their code of ethics when conducting their duties and he intended to emphasise discipline in that area.
He added that he would make a submission to the national government  to increase the annual police recruits from current 600  to a 1,000 next year in preparation for the LNG project demands.
“With the LNG project taking shape, we aim to have 10,000 police personnel in the country by 2015,” he said. 
Maipakai said he would continue to carry out major changes in police infrastructure within the country, and wanted to see that tasks under his ministry were  effectively executed.
With the recently announced general salary increase for public servants unlikely to affect the police force, Maipakai said he would ensure the enterprise-based agreement entered between the government, Police Department and the Police Association in 2006 was reviewed.
This would see the inclusion of additional allowances and leave entitlements for police officers in the country.