31 Dec 2009

Police in PNG's Madang appoint auxiliary officers to help during holiday period

10:43 am on 31 December 2009

About 700 youth and community leaders have been brought in to help police during the New Year celebrations in the Papua New Guinea province of Madang.

The Madang City police station commander, Senior Inspector Steven Kaipa, says the auxiliary officers have been commissioned with t-shirts donated by the Chinese-run nickel producer RamuNico.

He says they will focus on keeping Madang beautiful, looking out for people who litter or make a mess with betel nuts.

But Senior Inspector Kaipa says they will have the power to make citizens' arrests.

"What they will basically be doing is to observe, monitor and detain. If anybody commits any summary offences or minor offences they will assist us to detain - that's part of their citizens' arrest - and then they will have to get in touch with the police and hand them over to us, the police, to deal with them, under our laws."

Senior Inspector Kaipa says a liquor ban is currently in force in Madang so they do not anticipate alcohol-related disturbances.