Bige Fuel Station, located at Dogura in the Central Province, on Friday, November 8th, donated K100 worth of fuel to each of ten police vehicles in Port Moresby for the weekend’s Drunk Patrol operations.
Company owner Damien Bige made the contribution to support police efforts against rising crime rates in NCD and Central Province, enabling officers to maintain a strong presence on the streets during peak hours.
Bige expressed his commitment to helping police keep the city safe, saying, “I am giving only fuel to our hardworking officers to continue their duty around our City NCD/Central to fight crime.”
Acknowledging limited resources, he apologized to other police units who were unable to receive fuel on Friday afternoon, adding, “That’s all I can afford to support to fight crimes.”
The NCD/Central police command has welcomed the support.
Meantime, Police Minister Peter Tsiamalili revealed to a high-level Marape-led coalition government’s meeting that PNG’s police force operates with less than half its needed staff, with one officer serving every 1,600 people.
To address this, the government aims to recruit 500 new officers by 2025 and is working with Australia to double this number.
Five senior roles in Enga Province will be filled by Commonwealth officers as part of a pilot program to strengthen local police leadership.
The meeting led by Prime Minister James Marape and Deputy Prime Minister John Rosso, and coalition leaders and coordinated by the Chief Secretary to Government Ivan Pomaleu, discussed key national security priorities ahead of the November 26th Parliament session and the 2025 National Budget.
With Policing and law enforcement improvements taking center stage, the government’s focus now is on tackling emerging threats like transnational crime and cyber security issues.
Plans include expanding community policing, boosting police manpower, and investing in ICT and AI technologies for better crime management, with leaders stressing police funding in the upcoming “Secure PNG 2025” budget.