PM backs Baki to lift force, instil discipline

 PRIME Minister Peter O’Neill has promised the people an improved and disciplined police force with the appointment of Police Commissioner Gary Baki (pictured).

He said the standards of policing would be much better as a result of the changes taking place in the police hierarchy.

He said Baki was no stranger to the position he had held previously.

“We have made this decision very much aware of the challenges that the police are facing,” O’Neill said.

“I want to assure not only the people of Lae but people in the country that you will see a disciplined police force emerging out of this.

“And I can guarantee you that Gary Baki is a very disciplined and experienced person. 

“I can assure you that he can carry out and discharge this responsibility to the expectations of all citizens. Over the past 12 months, we have seen the decline in the morale of the policemen and women, we’ve seen the decline in their confidence and decline in their discipline.

“All the programmes the Government has initiated like the police modernisation programme have fallen off track and we now want to put it back on track.

“We are investing as a Government a record amount of money into the police force but the outcomes are negligible. That is why we had to make that change.”

O’Neill had announced the change in the police hierarchy last week, saying the decision was not taken lightly by the National Executive Council. 

He said the decision to sack former commissioner Geoffrey Vaki was a Government move “to restore confidence (and) discipline” in the police force.