Police Force head must be an outsider

 THE performances of past and present Police Commissioners show very little or zero improvements in police brutality but a marked increase in the abuse of the constabulary code of ethics in almost all areas of policing in Papua New Guinea. 

So the writing on the wall is very clear that the position of the Police Commissioner should by now be open to the public or non-police officers both onshore and offshore (i.e. Australia, New Zealand or England) to apply for a change in the top to improve the entire police force. 

This means the Police Act needs to be amended to facilitate that. 

History shows that our police force are getting worse by the day and no commissioners in the last 25 years have shown any degree of competence in building a police force that is disciplined, smart, intelligent and citizen friendly. Police brutality in the capital city which hosts the RPNGC Headquarter, Police Commissioner Office, RPNGC Internal Affairs Office, RPNGC Training College, Police Minister’s Office, Attorney General Office and other important Government offices is an everyday thing. 

Yet, none of these offices have responded as expected by the citizens it represents. All of these Government offices know very well that it is the job of the police commissioner to fix it and when the commissioner fails nobody does anything to ensure that the matter is permanently resolved. Not even the Police Minister, past and present appears to have any control. 

The public no longer respects the police force and it is just matter of time before they openly challenge the police with the same force and firearms they are using against them. 

The police are now widely perceived as criminals because the trend of police behaviour is contrary to the intent and spirit of the RPNGC. 

Little children are frightened when they see a police vehicle or a policeman. This means in their tender age they have heard stories of police brutalities or have seen one of their relatives, neighbours or someone being punched, kicked, gun butted or shot by a police officer. 

This is not normal and requires a commission of inquiry to establish what is the root cause of police brutality and continuous abuse of the RPNGC code of conduct. Acts of violence by trained personnel against ordinary citizens are cowardly and show serious signs of mental disorder.

Police are trained and duty-bound to conduct themselves with utmost discipline. 

In PNG this is the complete opposite. It simple shows that the head of the police, both past and present have all failed. 

These commissioners were appointed from the police hierarchy but the present state of the police force shows very little to be proud of.

Hence, the RPNGC needs the intelligence and wisdom outside or within the police force of one of the three commonwealth countries to fix its state of affairs and make it more disciplined, fair, efficient, effective and friendly in the administration and enforcement of law and order. 

This country has developed intelligently to a point where it demands highly intelligent Police Commissioners to rebuild the ailing RPNGC to counter complex crimes like cybercrime, transnational crime, money laundering, human smuggling, child prostitution, tax evasion, multinational corporation fraud and counterfeit drugs. 

The conduct of the RPNGC which has been the public concern for the last 25 years reflects the appalling incompetency of the present and past police commissioners. 

The Government must now look at bringing people from outside the police force to restore public confidence and rebuild RPNGC. 

I believe most Papua New Guineans will appreciate an Australian, New Zealander or a British to become our Police Commissioner because he/she will bring the kind of discipline and management culture that will transform the police force. 

The public has already lost trust in local Papua New Guineans holding the police commissioner’s position.

Samson Wena

Kerowagi, Chimbu