MPs: Discipline cops

 THE government should address the serious lack of discipline in the police force if it wants to effectively control law and order, Parliament was told yesterday.

Several MPs said during debate that police discipline must be improved and given priority with other issues such as capacity building and increased resources.   

“The government and police ministry can talk about major restructure and change in the police force but without changing the attitude of officers and officers adopting strict discipline or instilling discipline on officers, it is a waste of time and resources,” West New Britain Governor Sasindran Muthuvel said. 

Muthuvel, who cited the unruly behaviour of a police officer in Kimbe last weekend, said such incidences resulted from the lack of discipline and attitude problems displayed by police generally and in public. 

Sumkar MP Ken Fairweather added: “It is about strict discipline in the force that should be the first thing to look at before giving funds for police works.” 

He said Police Minister Nixon Duban should consider having police presence in the districts so that law and order issues in the community could be dealt with more effectively. 

Members generally agreed that the current lack of police discipline was a contributing factor to the escalating law and order problems in the country.