Police parody on the rise

POLICE impersonations in towns and cities around the country is becoming a challenge that the Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary hierarchy needs to promptly address.
Impersonating can be easily conducted by people who may have had prior knowledge of police or military operations in PNG and abroad. In a most recent case in Port Moresby, a group of sacked police personnel were arrested and charged with crimes involving processed methamphetamine, a stimulant illegal drug.
What are the checking and detecting protocols PNG police and the national security authorities have in place to control and clamp down on illegal operations in the country?
Police auxiliaries and reservists are also seen to be tarnishing the name of the Royal Constabulary by conducting unlawful activities. By doing so, they are impersonating the work of regimental police officers.
Police work in PNG is governed by the PNG Police Act, 1998. This law was enacted to establish an efficient and effective police service that upholds the rule of law, protects the rights of citizens, and specifies the standard requirements on the code of conduct for regimental police officers passing out from the Bomana Police College.
Further, this legislation also outlines the organisational structure of the police force, including the roles and responsibilities of the Police Commissioner, Deputy Commissioners, and other senior officers.
It also sets out the powers and duties of police officers, including the power to investigate crimes, maintain public order, and make arrests.
Given the high level of responsibility and trust afforded to law enforcement, the standards for becoming a police officer in PNG are higher than what you’ll likely find in many careers where the minimum recruitment requirements are lengthy.
If the police and army impersonations are not addressed promptly, transnational organised criminal groups and the local criminal gangs will take advantage and flourish in society more than ever.

Charles Ifu
Watabung, EHP