PNG, Australia reaffirm police cooperation on safety issues

POLICE Commissioner David Manning says the policing partnership between Australia and Papua New Guinea aims to effectively address crime and safety issues in the country.
Manning said this on return from a two-day meeting (March 23-24) in Sydney with Australian federal police (AFP) commissioner Reece Kershaw in which both agreed to several commitments to be headed by the Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary (RPNGC) and AFP.
Manning and Kershaw met at the Australian Institute of Police Management (AIPM) to discuss the long-standing relationship and cooperation between the two forces.
“The RPNGC and AFP have a deep and trusted police-to-police partnership that reflects PNG’s and Australia’s status as close neighbours and Pacific policing family with shared values and mutual security interests,” Manning said.
Both commissioners re-affirmed ongoing close cooperation to address crime and safety issues impacting PNG, Australia and the Blue Pacific, consistent with the 2018 Boe Declaration on Regional Security.
“We recognise the ongoing importance of policing together to make our Blue Pacific safer together and our commitment to ongoing collaboration and protection of the sovereignty of our nations,” Manning said.
Both commissioners acknowledged their mutual commitment to community-oriented policing backed by transparency, good governance and the rule of law.
Recalling its 10-year vision to see the RPNGC become a “professional effective and trusted community-oriented policing service” the PNG-Australia policing partnership’s mission design 2022-2026 supports the RPNGC through advisers, targeted mentoring and training of emerging leaders and support for the implementation of the officer cadet programme across three streams: operations, training and corporate reform.
Manning said the partnership would enhance RPNGC’s capability to identify and disrupt transnational crime and assist lawful RPNGC and AFP responses to the evolving and complex global criminal environment.
“We commit to support the establishment of a RPNGC donor coordination unit (DCU),” he said.
“The DCU will assist in focusing the Australian government and international assistance to mutually support RPNGC capability development and ongoing cooperation to detect, deter and disrupt transnational, serious and organised crime in the region.”
Manning said they discussed the need to develop female police officers in line with the gender equity and social inclusion policy of the national government.
“We recognise female police officers as significant contributors for the betterment of the RPNGC and PNG community,” he said.
Both men noted that the Coronavirus (Covid-19) had exacerbated a range of existing challenges, including gender-based violence.
“We reaffirm ongoing support and resourcing through the partnership to support Papua New Guinea to address the epidemic of gender-based violence,” Manning said.