As of the close of Police recruitment last Friday, 20,000 online applications were received for both Constable recruit and Officer Cadet training, says Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Administration Joanne Clarkson.
She said the hard copy applications from those that applied in the provinces have not been received hence the number of applications is expected to increase once all applications arrive in Port Moresby.
The Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary (RPNGC) advertised a total of 576 positions in November and December of 2022 respectively of which 16 were civilian positions for the Administration Wing, 60 Officer Cadet positions and 500 Regular Police Constable recruit places.
DCP Clarkson said interviews for the 16 civilian positions commenced on Monday 23rd January 2023 and will continue for two weeks.
“The sixteen positions were advertised externally from the Constabulary including senior positions such as the First Assistant Secretary Finance & Administration and Director Supplies. We have received a total of 601 applications for the 16 positions,” DCP Clarkson said.
DCP Clarkson said a recruiting company known as Head Hunters was contracted to do the short listing for all the applications of the 576 positions received.
“The reason why Head Hunters was contracted is because we had issues in the past with managing recruitment internally and so we have outsourced to improve governance and accountability.
“At some point we hope that we can lift the standard of our own recruitment process and system within the constabulary. So, outsourcing to private and learning from them as well helps us to build our own capacity internally,” she said
She said once all applications for the 560 police recruitment are brought in from outside provinces, the recruitment agent will take about two to three weeks to complete the screening process of all the applications received and those short listed will be informed.
“The next step is to run recruitment centers. This step involves verification of certificates, conducting tests, assessments, as well as physical tests will be done,” says DCP Clarkson.
She said the application and recruitment process is free of charge as clearly spelt out in the advertisement and no member of the RPNGC should obtain any form of payment from those that applied.
“You are to submit your applications online and if you could not then your point of contact is your Provincial Training Officer. That is the only person that you give your applications to but if any member of RPNGC had obtained money from you, I encourage you to report that person. We have Internal Investigation Units in each of the provinces, and in Port Moresby we have the Internal Affairs Directorate Head office, so I’d encourage you to report these officers so we can deal with them,” DCP Clarkson said.
She said it is very disappointing to hear members of the Constabulary soliciting money from innocent fellow citizens who genuinely want to join the RPNGC.
Clarkson said RPNGC intends to make the recruitment process an annual process going forward.
“Twenty thousand applications is the largest that I’ve heard of in my career in the RPNGC and this is not counting the hard copies that’s still coming in from the outside centers,” DCP Clarkson said.
She said that a steering committee will be meeting to address the challenges, one of which is to consider the inclusion of the applicants who cannot meet the current 560 quota to be included in the next batch. But she said this is still a decision the RPNGC will have to make.
In conclusion Clarkson said the RPNGC is an equal opportunity employer and she is keen to see how many women have applied.