by Jack Lapauve Jr, – EMTV, Port Moresby
Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop opened a new police barracks in the Autonomous Region of Bougainville during her visit to the island this week.
The new barracks will assist the Bougainville Police Service to reach its goal of one hundred more police officers on patrol by 2016.
The male and female barracks will provide accommodation for forty Bougainvillian’s to undertake pre-recruit training at the Police Training Centre in Buka next year.
The contribution is part of Australia’s broader law and justice investment in Bougainville, which includes renovations and improvements to the training centre, building houses and courts, training police officers and lawyers, and also to support the local dispute resolution.
“A growing and well-trained Bougainville Police Service is critical for providing the security and order that underpins peace, democracy and development for Bougainville”, Minister Bishop says.
Meanwhile, 16 women have been selected by their communities to undertake pre-recruit training next year to support the Autonomous Region’s peace and development program. If successul in their course, these trainees will be eligible to join the police as recruits.
