Reforming, transforming police into an efficient security operative

PUBLIC law and order has been a concern for Papua New Guineans since Independence 44 years ago (Sept 16, 1975). The National’s senior reporter CLIFFORD FAIPARIK spoke to Acting Police Commissioner David Manning on his action plan for the force.

ACTING Comm David Manning says the Royal Papua New Guinea Police Constabulary is in dire need to be reformed and transformed into an efficient and effective public law and order enforcement operative.
“Many things had gone wrong since 1975 after the Australians left. “There was a sense of things working well. It’s like a new car, when you buy it and use it, it works well. As it gets older, performance starts depreciating due to ‘wear and tear’, instead of improving due to lack of quality servicing (or due to inefficiency),” he added.
Manning said: “The next three months will be very crucial for me to implement measures to lay a new and strong foundation to reform and transform the police force into an efficient law and order service provider for the people and country.
“In order to achieve that in 10 years, we have to set up a solid foundation that is purely based on discipline and good leadership. We have to identify where we have been and where we are heading.”
He said a good yard stick to measure police performance was the development of the private security industry.
“People pay high costs for private security because they can’t rely on us. Once you get things right, you will see the security industry shrink to the role of providing support. That means we have successfully enhanced our delivery to the people and winning their confidence. “Presently, many security firms are taking the lead in protecting public properties and are engaged by the private sector,” he added.
Manning said that one basic foundation that he was aiming to lay was putting the right management in place from the headquarters to the division, provincial and station levels.
“The senior officers we had in the force shortly after Independence were trained by the Australians. But they have been retrenched and retired with all those leadership and management skills.
“So, we must work on enhancing the productivity and efficiency of our personnel and force. To achieve this, our men and officers must be trained and equipped with the right management skills like the Australian police,” he added.
Manning said: “We are now focusing our efforts on rebuilding the force. We have to go ahead with what we have at the moment. Some issues are quick fix and some issues it will take years to fix.
“We are now at the crossroads and we need to put the right people in the right positions, strengthen good behaviour and develop a culture that marginalises bad practices.

“ We also want to beef up the Fraud and Anti-Corruption Directorate. Crime is a result of unequal distribution of wealth nationwide.”

“So, in moving forward, the biggest challenges for the force are not only to regain public confidence but to strive to remain as a reliable law and order organisation or operative.
“The lesser we are relevant to the community we serve, the lower the confidence the public has on the force,” he said.
“The basic foundation of discipline in the force must be reviewed and new efforts and measures must be taken to raise the standard of discipline and behaviour of police personnel.
“You will find that the majority of policemen and officers are hardworking. It is the few (bad apples) who are tarnishing the image of the force.
“I joined force in 1997 when it had significant challenges and many will say that it was on the decline. We had challenges but we continued to work. We don’t have the good old days to reminisce about. If you ask me when the force was working well, I really can’t tell you.
“I joined the force when it was crumbling. So, we inherited a broken organisation. Not completely destroyed but broken. The days when it worked well may be shortly after Independence,” he added.
Manning said when right disciplined officers committed to the profession were put in command, then it will be easier to crack down on indisciplined individuals.
“We must now strive to achieve zero tolerance on bad behaviour or indiscipline. We are now giving time for men and officers at the stations to behave and perform.
“We want them turn up for work properly attired in their uniform, and displaying high leadership examples. When disciplinary action is taken against policemen and officers, the provincial police commanders must explain and tell us why that had happened.
“The days of ‘closing an eye’ on bad behaviour and indiscipline are over. We are now strengthening the Internal Affairs Directorate to check the rise of indiscipline in the force, and aiming to eradicate it.
“We also want to beef up the Fraud and Anti-Corruption Directorate. Crime is a result of unequal distribution of wealth nationwide. This unequal distribution of wealth is caused by a few Government officers who manage public funds.
“When they misuse funds that are meant to stimulate and create economic activities, like for road-building in rural areas, the people suffer.
“When there is no infrastructure development, no economic activities, no government services like health and education, the people get upset and are overwhelmed by negative feelings.
“The people, especially youths, get restless and resort to criminal activities to look for money. That is why we must give priority to fight corruption,” he added.
Manning said: “I do not believe that funding is an issue that has contributed to the deterioration of the force. But we want to resolve and eradicate the issues of indiscipline in the force.
“I believe that if high discipline is restored, that will lead to fewer complaints of police brutality. Yes, we will convince the Government to fund us as we do need funds to operate and manage.
“Currently, we only have enough to respond. We are pretty much doing the hard job with inadequate resources. We also have to look at the welfare of policemen and officers.
“We must build decently good barracks and enhance police chaplainry services to provide counseling to our men and officers, and their families. Only with stable living conditions can they be comfortable to focus on law enforcement and public order. We also have problems in our operations because of lacking logistical support, like transport and communications
“Some of the police stations are built for five-man shift and now it has double. Where will they sit and work? We have to deal with 7,000 police personnel nationwide,” he said.
Manning said: “To check and fix the deteriorating conditions of the force caused by indiscipline, there must be adequate funds for the administration to operate.
“I am confident that the Government will provide the required funds when there is a good management in place. Because, if the Government cares for the people, then you will see the force will no longer incur debts. We now have only 7,000 men and officers serving eight million people in PNG. The ratio is thus one police personnel to serve more than 1,000 people (the ideal ratio according to eurostat is 1:309).
“Is that workable or adequate?” he asked.
Manning said his option to at least address this huge policing gap was to secure the cooperation and support of communities to help the police to maintain law and order.
“We want communities to get into partnerships with provincial governments on public security issues and matter. We have plans to address the plight of Grade 10 and 12 school leavers. We want to implement a sort of National Youth Service Programme that will be run by our Community Policing Directorate.
“This will require provincial governments, especially their provincial education officers, to provide details on the number of school leavers for police training.
“They can then return to serve in their provinces and to work in their communities for about two years as probationary policemen. They will also do matriculation studies to upgrade their grades while still serving in the force.
“Based on their performance in the two years, they can be assessed and recommended to further their education at their preferred colleges or universities. And if they prefer to continue to serve in the force, they can be appointed as fully qualified policemen or officers who can be transferred to swerve in any police unit or province,” he explained.”
Manning said programme was already on trial with the Hela government to help curb the ongoing tribal feuds and fights.
“We will have about 120 school leavers to be recruited as police reservists to help address law and order problems in their communities.
“This is part of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the Hela provincial administration and the police to take back Hela from warlords who are responsible for the protracted lawlessness. Under this MoU, 30 school leavers will be recruited form each of the districts in Komo, Magarima, Koroba, Lake Kopiago, Tari and Pori.
“And they will be paid about K300 per fortnight for about two years before deciding on their future to become permanent policemen or officers or pursue other career or education opportunities.
“Also in the MoU the reservists will undertake matriculation studies to pursue further education studies at universities or other tertiary institutions that they prefer.”
Manning said the MoU was also an initiative to beef up police capacity in the province.
“Capacity building is a concern for the force nationwide. Police have suffered enough over the years with lawlessness, especially inrural areas. We think this is a good and progress pro-active measure and I urge other governors and provincial government to consider embracing and implementing such MoUs,” he added.

Tribal feuds, clashes continue unabated despite mediation efforts

LAW and order woes in PNG are linked to tribal feuds and fights that break out in both rural and urban areas since Independence 44 years ago.
Educating communities on the need to embrace peace, unity and harmony are crucial to change mindsets positively.
And, maintaining law and order is also the major role of the police force that needs to be reformed and transformed into an efficient and discipline security operative.
In June 2018, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) reported in its website that as many 34 councillors from the Nebilyer Local Level Government (LLG) in Western Highlands had agreed to respect and implement the traditional rules of fighting, to minimise its consequences on people and property.

“The tribal leaders generated 15 rules after numerous meetings and discussions … The rules are neither new nor borrowed but are the ones used in the past by our forefathers when engaging in any tribal fight,” Western Highlands Provincial Law and Order chairman Gabriel Kiap said.
Kiap was once a tribal leader and was involved in fighting during his younger days, but said these fights had greatly affected the community.
More than 2,000 people attended the signing of the tribal rules ceremony. Jerome Guillaumot / ICRC
He added that those engaged in tribal conflict did not respect the rules and would not hesitate to destroy whatever came in their way.
“Innocent lives are being lost. The rules are clear: civilians, especially the elderly, women, children and people with disability, can’t be targeted. Women and children must not be sexually abused and health-care providers need to be respected at all times,” Kiap said in the ICRC report.
In addition, he said, the rules prohibit the destruction of public property such as schools, health facilities, roads, bridges, electricity poles and religious places and discourage targeting of neutral tribes and clans.
“Taking fights into public areas and engaging children under the age of 18 in tribal fights is not allowed,” he added.
Mt Hagen ICRC office head Kakhaber Khasaia said: “Over the past few decades, tribal fighting has become significantly more destructive due to the use of semi-automatics and breakdown in traditional methods of fighting.
“Despite varying traditions in the region, it is clear that the rules of fighting are no longer respected. In olden times, male fighters would focus on fighting their counterparts on the battlefield. Women, children and people living with a disability were respected, homes were not burnt down as people slept inside and properties were never damaged,” he added.
After decades of efforts by various parties and authorities to end the tribal mentality, the problem continues unabated.