LIGHT OF HOPE IN THE PAPUA NEW GUINEA CONSTABULARY

Two Commissioners should be given medals. History will be kind to them as patriots trying to bring accountability and transparency to the constabulary.

Many Australian Defence Force officers would have watched with morbid amusement and total horror at the antics of the police fraud squad idiots in seeking to destroy the office of Commissioner. 

In some dictatorships, the fraud squad officers would be executed by firing squad. In North Korea they may be fed to dogs. But we live in democratic Papua New Guinea.

One officer was found guilty of Contempt of Court when right or wrong he was seeking to clean up the command and control mess. 

The assumption for some was that he was the Prime Minister's stooge seeking to quash arrest of the Prime Minister. He should now be awarded a medal for bravery in the face of the police enemy. The police system was grossly flawed.

This has to be the only time in the world when a Commander was taken to Court by a subordinate who sought a charge of Contempt of Court. 

From early times, the Commander of disciplined forces commanded and required his subordinates to be accountable and to obey commands. Not in the PNG police. The Commissioner has the primary role of administration. But corruption of the police is an administrative matter.

The police may be laboring under the delusion as set down in the Constitution that having been given the powers of arrest, they are accountable to no-one, not even their superior officer.

This seems to have existed from the base constable to the chain of command up to the Commissioner. Police have been out of control, some using the local police station as their base for criminal and corrupt activities. 

Some were given money under the table to evict tenants without a Court Order. Some were pay roll guards for companies, all without the knowledge of the Police Station Commander. They could arrest and charge without his knowledge which leads to false arrest in support of wantoks.

All arrests warrants should have the signature of the commander at the next highest level. This was not the practice in recent times and led to charges against two Commissioners. Warrants should be rejected by the Courts if not authorized by the next highest commander or his delegate.

All citizens should be protected from false, mischievous and corrupt arrest with all police being accountable to their superior officer. This has led to the criticism that the PNG constabulary had a lack of governance.

But most important of all is that the senior officers of Government be protected and this is now being done by the present Commissioner with a panel of senior officers to vet the file of the Fraud Squad.

It should not be left to the Courts to decide that the charges against senior officers are in error. It should be handled in-house within the Constabulary and the chain of command. Arrest of a Prime Minister is serious business that will destabilize Government and cause problems overseas. 

The currency will drop and cost of living will rise with inflation. What if the panel of senior police detects crucial errors? Parliamentary affairs will be business as usual. 

Any officer unwilling to submit investigations to scrutiny has to give the impression of having something corrupt to hide. If he moves against the Commissioner, he would in many countries be regarded as in gross insubordination and leading a mutiny.