Geeez, I've had a bit of reading to catch up on here! Doesn't pay to be away from PPRuNe for very long, apparently!
Anyway, just thought I'd add to the report on what the ECP coppers are doing these days.
The only story to have made it into the local rags is that they've been hassling the Port Morbid nightclubs for trading beyond the hours of their licences!
Now, I'm not going to go out on a limb here by saying that there's a suggestion of the involvement of some clubs in criminal activities - I'll leave that for others to decide for themselves!
However, if that
IS the case, it seems more than a little strange that the coppers would choose to tackle such a connection in that way.
Of recent times, I've noted the Oz coppers participating in nightly police roadblocks. Sure, there's a chance that they'll detect a few of the lower-rung crims, but that's all.
All in all, there's a growing perception that the ECP cops are making no difference to the situation here. Maybe they've just figured out that members of the RPNGC are part of the problem, as much as some members of the PNGDF are part of the problem, and have, therefore, already admitted defeat.
It wouldn't surprise me if all the local crim gangs knew about the said "rules of engagement" before the first Oz copper even arrived. I'll leave it to your imagination as to how such valuable information might have leaked out!
In any event, the arrival of the Oz cops doesn't seem to have made much difference to the level of criminal activity.
There is undoubtedly a perception of "us and them" among the RPNGC personnel. The Oz coppers are accommodated in the very best places around the city, at huge cost, while their PNG counterparts live in slums, squatter settlements, aging barracks and condemned buildings. And then there's the difference in the money being paid to the two different types of cops...
I have to wonder how the Oz coppers were briefed before they started work here. I wonder if they were informed of the true magnitude of difficulty that they'd be facing? I wonder if they were told that, for every employed citizen, there's at least 10 more who are unemployed - and that those who
ARE employed receive paltry remuneration.
Now, whether or not you believe that their pay is appropriate to their skills, the fact is that the cost of living is very much higher than their wages. Even the food staples - flour and rice - are very expensive here, because all the flour and almost all the rice is imported.
All in all, the Oz coppers face a lot of challenges and I have to wonder what they will ever be able to achieve, if anything. I've had my doubts since the ECP was first mooted and, so far, have seen nothing to give me confidence that any improvement will occur - or last beyond the 5 years of the ECP arrangement.
Hmmm... perhaps I shouldn't have had that last glass of saki...
