Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary (RPNGC)

Chief Inspector Fr Michael Lau (NCD/Central Chaplain), Chief inspector Fr Joseph Labigi (Islands Chaplain), Chief Inspector Rev. William Pok (Coastal Chaplain), Chief Inspector Rev. David Yuwi (Highlands Chaplin), and Chief Inspector Fr. George Baruka (Bougainville Police Service Chaplain) recited an oath of office and vowed to perform their duties with the objective of bringing effective change to the police force.

Acting ACP NCD/Central Command, Peter Guinness said this during the distribution of fleet keys to the Six-mile and Seven-Mile Police stations in Port Moresby.

Guinness said it is not easy to secure vehicles, especially for the police department.

“It has been a long-coming issue where we always ask for vehicles and the distribution of these vehicles comes as a relief to all our members,” he said.

The agreement will see the provision of police housing, valued at AU$37 million (around K100 million) over four years.

Police Commissioner, David Manning said a large part of the support will be utilised in improving living conditions for Papua New Guinea police through the building and renovation of the barracks and accommodation.

Six-mile and Seven-mile police stations received two brand new Toyota Landcruisers each, presented to them by Police Commissioner David Manning.

According to Manning, the vehicles were bought from the 2024 budget allocated to the police department from taxpayer's money. He urged policemen and women to use the vehicles for their intended purpose.

Manning said Six and Seven Mile were the first to receive the keys because of their good reputation. They have shown good work ethics and importantly, upheld good behaviour during the civil unrest on January 10.

Guinness said despite the ending of the State of Emergency, police are still monitoring the looted items due to the ongoing investigation into the civil unrest on the 10^th of January, 2024.

He said police will only raid houses if they receive reports relating to the looted items.

Guinness said police retrieved a total of K60,000 cash buried underground at Six Mile last week, believed to be stolen from an ATM machine during the civil unrest.

 He said another K400,000 was retrieved from the ATM at Waigani.

This was the message to NCD police during the 2024 NCD parade today in Port Moresby.

NCD Metropolitan Superintendent Silva Sika said the best strategy that the police will now take is to direct the responsibility to the police station commanders to change the behaviours of their police officers.

He said this is one way to see improvement in the police force.

Sika said the NCD Command is going through a structural change, and has given strong responsibility to the police station commanders following the unrest on the 10th of January, 2024.

This was announced by Police Commissioner David Manning during a Police Press conference held today in Port Moresby.

Manning said the new arrangement was established and agreed upon by the Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary (RPNGC) and Papua New Guinea Defence Force (PNGDF) to bring to an end the continuous tribal warfare in the affected provinces.

Acting Police Commissioner and State of Emergency Controller, Donald Yamasombi in announcing this appointment said ACP Guinness has a good track record and earns the respect of the rank and file to lead the NCD/Central Command.

“ACP Guinness is a highly experienced officer at the operational level as ACP Northern Command since 2015, where he was actively involved in community engagement and the prevention of local and international crime that has been entering the area. 

Wagambie vehemently denied any division within the police force or conflicts with the PNGDF.

He asserted that all police personnel in the National Capital District (NCD) and Central Province are actively fulfilling their duties, and there is a collaborative effort among security forces, including NCD/Central Police, Mobile Squads, and PNGDF, operating collectively under the State of Emergency.

Despite his suspension, he stressed that the security situation in the city is stable, with comprehensive security operations in progress.

The awareness is being conducted to help reduce the number of criminal activities and petty crime and help increase police relationship with the local communities, church groups and schools, according to PPC Beli.

“Our core actions for this year is awareness and community advocacy that we try to advocate people on the good and also (what) they shouldn’t be doing and how to conduct themselves in their communities,” said the PPC.