First Ng Native

Police Officers

In Training

From a Port Moresby Correspondent

The Royal Papua-New Guinea

Constabulary is well on the way to training its own native police officers. Thirty-two cadets are now undergoing a four - year course at Kila, Port Moresby, and by the end of 1963 they will have their own Police Training College on a new 500-acre site at Bomana, some mile away.

ALL the Constabulary’s officers at present are Europeans. The most junior European rank is Sub-In spector.

The first intake of native cadet officers was in February, 1962, when 10 constables began their course at Kila. Another 22 constables began training last August.

All the cadets have at least three years’ service in the ranks.

Director of cadet training is Senior Inspector W. M. Burns, who has been with the RPNGC for 16 years. For 10 years he was in charge of the Police Training Depot at Goroka, which closed in 1960. Since then all police training has been concentrated at Kila.

He will be principal of the new Police Training College at Bomana, tenders for which closed in De cember. The first stage of construe-

tion, which includes classrooms, ad ministrative and service blocks, road works, parade grounds and sports ovals, is expected to be completed by next November.

It will accommodate 40 cadets, but the number of cadets will be in creased to 60 when the third stage of the college is completed.

Superintendent B. Holloway, in charge of actual cadet training, says the syllabus for the new college will be the same as that at Australian police colleges.

Training will include law, police regulations and administration, finger print technique, physical training, sport and general education.

Police cadet T?k from Manus climbs the practice rope at Kila while the team looks ?. Kila depot is right by the sea.—P-NG official photo.

Education officer C. J. Boxtel gives a mathematics lesson to police officer cadets at Kila Police Training Depot, Port Moresby. The cadets receive a general education addition to police training.