Police intake plan begins

By DYLAN MURRAY
THE police recruitment exercise will go through five stages before an applicant can start training, says deputy commissioner of police Joanne Clarkson.
A police recruitment exercise began yesterday with a screening for applicants for the National Capital District, Central and Gulf at the Rita Flynn netball courts in Port Moresby.
The screening process will run for four weeks.
Those who pass the screening stage will advance to a written test, interviews, then medical exams.
Clarkson said the exams were to make sure that the candidates were of sober habit and did not take illicit substances.
“The last process will be the physical fitness,” she said.
Police Commissioner David Manning said they planned to complete the recruitment by mid-June.
Manning said it was the first recruitment drive wanted to carry out properly to make sure the best recruits were picked.
The current police to population ratio is 1:1,845 – or one police officer is responsible for 1,845 citizens.
Yesterday saw the first batch of 450 go through the first part of the screening process.
Clarkson said it was the first time police had engaged staff from the PNG National Identification and Civil Registry to assist with the screening process. Applicants brought NID cards for a machine to confirm if they are valid.
Education Department’s measurement services unit was also engaged to scan certificates.