Abstract

The contribution of social work education to the professional capacity development of police officers commenced in 1974 when the Diploma in Police Studies was introduced at the University of Papua New Guinea under the Social Work Programme. In 2001, a study was conducted to assess the impact of social work education on police officers.  The study focused only on those police officers that were still employed by the Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary. The information was collected through interview surveys using a structured questionnaire. This paper presents and discusses the respondents’ perception of how social work education is valued by the Department of Police.

Key words: Commissioner, commissioned and non commissioned officers, demotion, graduates, Police Act 1998, Police officers, Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary