PNG Police housing relates to discipline, says minister

Transcript

Papua New Guinea's Police Minister says the major programme to provide housing for a growing constabulary is slowly making inroads.

PNG's force numbers around 6500 police, having grown almost 40 percent in three years.

Most of them are understood to be housed in inadequate conditions or not at all.

Robert Atiyafa, who says the government is aiming at approaching 10,000 police by 2018, admits that the rapid growth of the force is adding pressure on police housing.

He told Johnny Blades PNG needs more police.

ROBERT ATIYAFA: The government would continue to fund the police efforts, increase the number. As it is, the ratio, the United Nations ratio that countries, friends like Australia and yourselves enjoy is a ratio of one policeman to 400 citizens. Papua New Guinea, we have a ratio of one policeman to 1400 to 1500 citizens now.

JOHNNY BLADES: So you're expanding the force?

RA: If I quickly can reflect on what is happening in terms of discipline and in terms of arrogance, is that the correct word, policemen getting out of hand, out of line when it comes to enforcing our laws, it's to do with their own welfare. If they're sleeping in a good house, if their wage... the pay is good, comparable to other public servants in their country. I think it's the resources, the logistic support, the housing that they require. That has now been reflected in their performance. I have an ageing police force. A lot of them have retired, they are retrenched but they're still living in police housing here and we can't get them out back to their villages. So we have all these programmes and I'm with the new commissioner working on addressing those issues.

JB: With this new 1500 odd recruits that you've seen coming through since 2012, is there a risk because you're gradually getting the housing right, that there will be again too many police officers and not enough housing available for them and maybe some more conditions for more problems, are you worried about that?

RA: That is the scenario now, I must admit. That we have one too many graduating and then we don't have the houses. We under the modernisation programme are addressing some of those, the number of houses are not many. We are building houses but basically that is like you are replacing their old rundown houses, so really there are no new houses yet. This is the problem the country and the police force has faced over ignorance by previous governments over the last 15 to 20 years. So obviously it will take a fairly equal number of time or shorter - the way the government is going in making money available - half that time to get it back on foot again. And I'm very confident that that will happen.