Editorial: If police chose to sit idle for a day, life would chaotic

Police officers have often been scrutinised by the public for their conduct when handling general police business. The lack of effectiveness and efficiency often gets blamed on the lack of manpower and resources to carry out their tasks.

While there are hardworking officers who dedicate and commit their lives to protecting life and property, there are also others whose actions raise public concern.

But behind the police vehicles, the stations, the counters, and the blue uniforms – are average Papua New Guineans who are being expected to provide safety for an increased population, amidst rising law and order problems, in the face of unemployment and countless socio economic issues. 

Police to people ratio

In March 2023, The National reported the Internal Security Minister Peter Tsiamalili saying that the overall police to population ratio in Papua New Guinea was 1: 1,845. Imagine how one police officer is expected to handle more than a thousand people. The stations and units are short staffed, under resourced and yet often criticised. 

The public expects police officers to make miracles amidst the work challenges they face – but how many civilians stop to think about the immense amount of stress that police officers have to go through daily.

While they are expected to perform above and beyond the call of duty while maintaining a calm composure, one would expect home to be a safe haven for these officers. A getaway that they look forward to at the end of the day. Sadly, this isn’t the case for many officers – especially those who occupy rundown police housing.

Recent media coverage on police housing

Over the past two weeks, several pictures, videos and stories of two police spouses were circulated widely on social media and reported by Lae based media.

Deemed ‘uninhabitable’, Police spouse Flavia Marian took a bold stance to speak up about the deteriorated conditions that their family has been living in for the past several years. 

With no running water, their children often get sick and their eldest son was diagnosed with tuberculosis.

Ms Marian described the long working hours that her husband was expected to fulfil despite his welfare being neglected as a public servant. Her husband is expected to serve with pride and respect the uniform, when the state gives very little thought as to how their officers live.

At the Bumbu Barracks there are families living in rundown homes, who have come to accept their conditions because it is considered better to have a roof over their head, than none at all. How many more officers have to accept these terrible living conditions, and yet do the dirty work and hard yards for those in higher positions.

How is the welfare not being considered when they get phone calls in the early hours of the morning for operations that may or may not be life threatening for them. 

The single quarters at the Bumbu Barracks are all occupied by officers and their families some of whom have been waiting for police housing to become available for them. These families need privacy with their families. Their children need conducive spaces to grow up rather than being raised in overcrowded barracks dormitories. 

The Post Courier reported on the 8th of March that there were more than 50 families occupying the male single quarters at the Bumbu Barracks. 

The facilities deteriorated over time with little to no maintenance being carried out. Pipes were broken for several years and the sinks are being used for laundry and bathing children, which has posed health issues for the families.

A police wife Cynthia Gregory said the living conditions often lead to domestic issues between police officers and their spouses. How is a police officer expected to carry out their task well when they live in terrible housing and they bare the weight of trying to fend and provide for their families.

In addition to the 1,000 people each police officer is expected to cater for – they have their families that the government seems to have forgotten about. 

While the focus has been on police housing in Lae, this is a legacy issue that is not isolated. There have been reports about the lack of police housing in the past but not attention is being given to it. Police officers cannot speak openly about their struggles because they report to a hierarchy – a hierarchy that seems to have forgotten that the human resource and force they depend on need housing and better welfare.

If police officers choose to sit idle for a day, it would be chaotic. The robber would have a field day knowing that the police won’t respond. The rapist would walk free to devour more victims. The pick pocketer would casually walk up to you and take your bag. 

Na police we? (And where are the police?)

A clear example being the looting and riots that happened earlier this year in Port Moresby.

One can’t deny that the moment a crime is committed, the first question that gets asked is, “na police wer? Where are the police officers?!” . If only their welfare issues were sorted as quickly as they are expected to respond. We would probably have a more efficient and driven workforce knowing that they are in the right space mentally to tackle the challenges of the job.

Apart from police families, civilians who have never seen first hand the dangers encountered by police officers on the daily may not fully understand or grasp why raising the issue on police housing is important.  

They deal with humans everyday. Humans that do not come with manuals and respond in situations differently. They’ve seen the tragedies of recovering dead bodies, encountering experiences that are now etched in their memories. They have had to make decisions to pull the trigger in certain cases. They’ve carried the weight of guiding five year olds through traumatic experiences of sexual abuse. If you knew and understood what police officers go through and see daily, you would want them to retire to a home where they felt safe and comfortable in. A safe haven away from the chaos they deal with everyday. 

Committed and dedicated police officers need to be applauded and respected for choosing to wear the uniform daily despite these challenges. They may not be able to speak up for themselves regarding their issues, but the least the public can do is to help them echo their concerns. 

Police officers deserve better housing. Their welfare and that of their families matter.