In his New Year message, the Divisional Commander for NCD and Central, Anthony Wagambie Jnr, said the Royal PNG Constabulary has come a long way.
“I am impressed with the current trend where members have begun to take ownership and responsibility of how we conduct ourselves in policing,” said the Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP).
“We have put up with the continuous barrage of criticisms and allegations against police on social media. Some are real and most are fake.
“We are public servants and service providers. We are accountable to the community we serve.
“The trend worldwide, both in the private and public sector, is to get customer feedback. For us, our customers are the people we serve.
“If you can recall, the years preceding 2020, this Division came under heavy criticism from the public almost every day. We were making headlines and front pages of newspapers for misconduct.
“This has changed.
“With our FB page and interaction by everyone, we have steadily shifted public perception to supporting us,” he added.
“We are not 100 percent there yet, but we are getting there.
“To get to the best policing standard, we will need a change of attitude from everyone.
“We may not have the resources like logistics, safe and healthy working environment, but through a change in attitude and sticking to basics, we can shine.
“The more we shine, the more we will be noticed by the Government to give us what we need.
“We have to produce results in order to make it easier for executive management to source the needed backing. We cannot ask if we don't produce results.”
ACP Wagambie Jnr further thanked the NCD metropolitan superintendent, Central provincial police commander and all rank and file for pressing on.
“We will get there as a team,” he stressed.