Police should focus on producing quality officers

ALMOST every second day, magistrates and judges are throwing out cases and all point back to police inefficiency.
It is either police officers delay, or failed to investigate, produce evidence or even turn up in court.
Such incompetence has several consequences – waste of public funds; waste of the court’s time, which impacts on other legitimate cases and we know about the huge backlog of cases; denial of justice; encourages abuse by rogue police officers; encourages corruption and wrong-doing; and discourages law-abiding citizens.
Cases are being thrown out of the courts because the hand up briefs were not written well or not prepared on time. Police integrity, or the lack thereof, is a frequent topic throughout media, academia, and all law enforcement organisations. No offences intended, but it is time the minimum entry mark for new police recruits be set at grade 12 and above with a certain GPA (grade point average).
English grades must be C or better.
We want officers who can read and comprehend and write reports.
Aptitude tests and fitness testing should form part of the recruitment process.
Once a recruit is accepted into the police academy, it should be compulsory for them to participate in classroom and practical instruction.
They learn state laws, criminal investigations, patrol procedures, firearms training, traffic control, defensive driving, self-defence, first aid and most importantly computer skills.
They have to be cautious about which act to charge people under. It’s not simple just locking somebody up in the cells, and then only to find out that they were wrongly charged under the wrong act.
Our arresting officers have to get it right from the beginning so it’s not a waste of everyone’s time.
Another area of concern is for police investigators to be attentive and timely in their reports when arresting and charging people as it was causing them inconvenience to remain in custody
Such negligence by officers is a contributing factor to the public losing confidence in the police force.
Recruitment, selection and training are important issues for police departments around the world in large part because of significant changes in the philosophy and nature of policing, higher expectations by their constituencies, and because of continuing efforts at professionalisation.
And the same must apply here in PNG.
The public has high expectation of police officers. Recruiters should focus on those who possess self-discipline, patience, attention to detail, knowledge of law, superior communication skills, and understand of scientific principles grounded in several disciplines.
Understanding that the new recruits of today will be the leaders of tomorrow, recruiting has a direct impact on the future effectiveness of the agency, including the community’s crime rate and quality of life issues.
To be effective in the 21st Century, police recruiters must raise the standards on agency diversity, officer education level, and understanding of the values of the next generation of police officer.
In essence, police departments need to recruit police officers like other sectors of the labour market. The process of recruiting qualified officers that will uphold and maintain these standards of professionalism is the foundation of any police agency.