Funding as the primary constraint: A study of police service delivery in Enga province, Papua New Guinea

The inadequate funding of policing operations by successive national, provincial, and local-level govern­ments (LLG) in Papua New Guinea has hindered effective service delivery by the Royal Papua New Guinea Constab­ulary (RPNGC). This research investigates the dynamics of police service delivery in Enga Province, Papua New Guinea. It adopts the Home Rule theory of policing, which views the police as servants of the community, to explore service delivery in the law and justice sector in Papua New Guinea. The researchers conducted a focus group inter­view (FGI) with seven police personnel selected from Enga Province to generate data, which was analysed using the NRI Qualitative Venn-Diagrammatic Analysis (NRI-QVDA) with a basic Venn diagram. The results indicated that funding is the greatest challenge to effective police ser­vice delivery in Enga Province. The research makes a strong case for establishing a Police Service Delivery Fund to transform police service delivery in Papua New Guinea.