Southern Highlands police headquarters, Mendi. Photo: RNZ / Johnny Blades
A study has revealed that the Papua New Guinea police force is underfunded and needs $US1.1 billion to properly perform its duties.
The research was carried out by Deloitte and facilitated by the PNG-Australia policing partnership.
The report says services are constrained by the high proportion of the population to the number of uniformed police, which is one officer to 1145 civilians.
This compares with the United Nations recommended ratio of one to 450.
The National says that despite this, the police force has not been able to acquire an increase in suitable funding from the government in recent years.
The study also found a clear correlation between high levels of crime and poor socio-economic outcomes.
It recommends the underfunding be addressed through a combination of initiatives that include meeting certain efficiency targets.
The doctor dealing with treating the victims of the massacre on Kiriwina Island this week which has left at least 24 people dead says this outbreak shows action is now needed urgently.
"The message is that we need to step up law and order within the rural PNG where there is a lack of regular police men and women," Giyodobu Tosiyeru said.
"We need to get the government to try and improve the law and justice sector ... where we are experiencing these tribal conflicts and a lot of law and order issues coming out and adversely affecting the image of Papua New Guinea.
"And I think that's where we need to be and when we have disasters such as this, it also tests the capacity of health services. And therefore, rolling out of government policy in health services to improve rural health is of paramount significance at this stage so that we are able to attend to crises such as tribal fights and mass casualty incidents," Dr Tosiyeru said.
