Thugs in uniform: Our police force needs to wake up to its duties
22 July 2014
OBED IKUPU
THERE was a time when the people of Papua New Guinea lived harmoniously with nature and maintained order and peace in the manner of many primitive cultures through various rules and taboos of existence.
This way of living maintained the peace amongst the tribes and societies they inhabited.
When the colonisers came with their western style of living, they also introduced and enforced their own laws to secure order and conformance.
The Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary came into existence to enforce this new model.
The work of the police isn’t easy considering the dangers they come across in the line of duty. With long hours and small pay from the government, the police these days tend not to follow protocol when they face the opportunities and challenges that come their way.
Since the days of the kiap, a lot of behavioural problems have contradicted the work of the police in terms of their moral conduct and ethics in work procedure.
Police brutality is a worldwide issue that challenges the conduct of police who have been endowed with authority to maintain order in society.
The cry of the people has been to eradicate such malpractice which causes harm rather than correction and abuses human life and property.
The public perception of police today is that they are thugs in uniform.
As a fact, there are reports in newspapers, magazines, radio, television and also primary sources of police.
A report in PNG Attitude not so long ago told of police brutality when journalist Benny Lamaisa was severely beaten in Port Moresby. The article highlighted how PNG police can be very aggressive in handling situations, especially while under the influence of alcohol (even on duty).
Mr Malaisa is chief political reporter of the Sunday Chronicle and Midweek Chronicle newspapers and his experience gives us a frightening insight into how the police feel free to attack people they see vulnerable.
As officers of the law, this conduct is unacceptable. They become know more than or thugs in uniform.
Another report by Prof Andrew Lattas told of police officers overstepping their authority in directing indigenous people in order to deliver corrupt favours to private corporations.
“Police and company directors often tell complaining villagers that the land is no longer theirs but belongs to the state which has leased it from them so as to lease it to the Malaysian companies,” Prof Lattas reported.
The local population’s continued efforts to recoup their traditional land resulted in damaged property, physical abuse and police brutality.
How can the government betray the people of Papua New Guinea when it was put there by the people to serve the interests of the people and the state?
How can an official body like the police allow its independence to slip so far away from its legal and constitutional obligations?
In the current economic boom and tormenting cost of living, the police have somewhat become thugs in their own right.
An article early last year by Ganjiki D Wayne on police brutality and police theft highlighted how the police have become thugs by looting and destroying property. The report stated that the police used brutal methods to confiscate items not as part of official police procedures but for themselves.
We understand that the police along with other public servants are overworked and underpaid and that efforts to root out rogue police officers is always a challenge to the clean cops.
But we cannot run the country properly with a police force that is as crooked as scoliosis.
We need immediate action by the appropriate government organisations to keep the RPNGC on track.
In the current political crisis flowing from Parakagate, the country faces deep divisions in the police force.
It is not for the police to take sides, they must recognise that their duty is to the law.
Brutality and partisanship by the police is an abuse of human rights and a violation of the solemn oath each man and woman swore as a member of a disciplined force.
Decent ethics and good values need to be restored to out police force. Nothing else is acceptable.
Well said Chris!
Posted by: Bernard Yegiora | 24 July 2014 at 09:06 AM
But we have the Australian police scattered throughout the country's coffee shops assisting the change of mindset in the local police. This sort of thing is going to be something of the past.
Seriously Chris, your article is on the right track.
Posted by: Kevin O'Regan | 23 July 2014 at 08:19 AM
It is tragic that the RPNGC, which once had a deserved reputation for its genuine connection to the community it served, has now degenerated to the point where some of its officers are little more than armed thugs.
Any organisation that is failing so spectacularly to fulfil its main mission is certain to be bereft of effective leadership.
In particular, there evidently is no-one willing or able to clearly articulate what the RPNGC's core values are and then enforce those values.
This is always a tough job in policing, which is a dangerous, demanding and sometimes distressing line of work. However, it is critical to success of a police force that it gains and retains the overwhelming support of the community it serves.
To do this, it is important that justice is both done and seen to be done. That is manifestly not happening in PNG right now.
There is no "magic bullet" solution to this. Change will have to start at the top and will not necessarily be pretty.
The first step is to strip politicians of the ability to remove and appoint Commissioners at will. At a minimum, this should take a resolution of Parliament. At least this should ensure that the process is transparent, unlike the recent change in leadership.
The second step is to appoint an incorruptible Commissioner and empower him or her to do all things that need to be done to change the culture of the force for the better, including sacking those officers who cannot or will not conform to the required standards of behaviour and probity.
This is a difficult but not impossible task. It has been done before but requires a great deal of political will in the first instance.
So, Mr O'Neill, have you got the "right stuff" in you to do what is right for the country?
Posted by: Chris Overland | 22 July 2014 at 09:27 PM
I watched a report on ABC Australia about police brutality in the South Fly region of PNG. The report outlined the interests of a Malaysian logging company and the power the company had over the local population by soliciting the help of the PNG police.
Villages in the South Fly region were promised jobs and development in their communities. I run a blog for Sigabaduru Village 7 km from the Australian border, I want to help the community and others with a solar power project.
Can anyone help me?
Contact me at [email protected] or http://www.sigabaduru.blogspot.com
Posted by: Dan Collyer | 22 July 2014 at 07:36 PM
Powerful article. My experience of police brutality left me with a swollen ear and face from the fan belt of a car.
Posted by: Bernard Yegiora | 22 July 2014 at 05:15 PM
Well, some upstanding citizens could always mail a copy anonymously to their police stations.
Do it again the next week in case the first copy gets "lost."
Posted by: Robin Lillicrapp | 22 July 2014 at 03:51 PM
This article might have tremendous impact if copies were sent to the police commander of each police station in the country, with a polite request that a copy be posted in places within the police station where all police could see the article, but not the public.
Which stations posted and which stations did not would give an immediate clue as to the mindset of the police commander himself.
In stations where the article was posted, its fate (whether it got torn down by someone or remained up) would give an idea about the mindset of the police working at that station.
Finally, how many times the article had to be reposted in those stations where it was torn down would give an indication of how resilient the police were at that particular station (or at least certain individuals) in doing things non-corruptly or honestly.
If the government Ministry of Police ran this experiment, they would get valuable data that would help them determine where to focus more scrutiny, investigations and behavioural training.
If an NGO did the sending out and monitoring, they would get useful data that could be used to right expose articles targeting stations with the worse police brutality problems.
And if an individual just mailed out the copies, they wouldn't know what had happened, but might at least do some good.
Unfortunately, this is PNG and none of the above will occur.
Why we are so lethargic as a people (at least the good people) while the corrupt and brutal have heaps of energy, is a mystery whose answer will tell us a lot about ourselves.
Posted by: Thomas Geno | 22 July 2014 at 12:15 PM