The governor of Papua New Guinea's National Capital District says he is considering a law change to give police greater power, as part of plans to tackle drunk and disorderly behaviour in Port Moresby.
Powes Parkop has announced his administration is working on cleaning up the capital by banning betel nut sales and addressing problems with alcohol abuse.
Mr Parkop says he is not banning alcohol but looking at initiatives to stop the violence, death and destruction caused by drunk people.
"For example, changing the constitution so that we can allow those who are drunk and disorderly to be detained by police. Not necessarily to charge them and subject them to a court process which is just a waste of time and money. We just allow police to have the power to detain them and when they're sober maybe within a few hours or overnight we can release them back to their community."
Powes Parkop says if the alcohol abuse is not dealt with, it will become a bigger problem.
