PNG launches new biometric police clearance certificate issuance system

Officials in Papua New Guinea have announced a trial run for a new system that will facilitate the issuance of biometric police clearance certificates.

Called the “Police Clearance Management System (PCMS),” the new system is an initiative of the Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary (RPNGC) and the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), according to a government news release.

The soft launch, according to Police Commissioner David Manning, will target particular areas in the country in the course of the next month, with the aim of getting comments and feedback to fine-tune the functioning of the platform for nationwide deployment.

Manning expressed gratitude to the DICT for its collaboration on the project, saying it is part of their wider IT Rehabilitation plan which seeks to modernize and streamline several other police services to enhance user experience, transparency, accountability and efficiency. Other aspects of the Rehabilitation plan include the putting in place of the Electronic Occurrence Book (e-OB), the HR Information Management System (HRIMS), and the Internal Affairs Department Case Management System, according to the senior cop.

“The Police Clearance Management system is an innovative platform aimed at streamlining the police clearance process for citizens, which is a step forward in enhancing our service to the community. This launch is a key milestone in our broader ICT Rehabilitation Project, which includes several other critical initiatives aimed at improving transparency, accountability, and efficiency within our operations,” says Manning.

Steven Matainaho, DICT secretary, also lauded the novelty, describing it as a part of the Government-to-People initiative undertaken by the PNG government which provides “a seamless digitalized process for our people to apply and pay online, receive a digital police clearance certificate, and utilize QR code technology for electronic verification and biometric data collection.”

The official also announced that in addition to the PCMS, many other digital services will be rolled out in September to improve the way citizens interact with the government and get access to important public services. These actions, he said, are in tandem with the country’s Digital Transformation Policy 2020, the Digital Government Act 2022, and the Medium-Term Development Plan IV 2023 – 2027.

PNG is fully engaged in other actions that fall under these digital government plans, some of which include efforts to set up a strong foundational identity base with increased birth registration as well as ambitions in the area of biometrics use in national elections

Article Topics

background checks  |  biometrics  |  government services  |  identity verification  |  Papua New Guinea  |  police