Sectoral aid and urban crime victimization in Papua New Guinea.

Source: (2012) Contemporary PNG Studies: DWU Research Journal. 17:16-34.

The purpose of AusAID’s 2003-2009 Law and Justice Sector Program
(LJSP) was to develop the capacity of Papua New Guinea’s law and
justice agencies to implement consistent policy, priorities and plans. This
article assesses whether the approach had a flow-on effect by
contributing to a reduction in community crime victimization. Extensive
urban crime victimization surveys from 2004-2008 found no apparent
flow-ons. National levels of individual and household victimization did
not change significantly. Victimization types were similar, but levels
varied considerably between towns. Port Moresby was close to the
national mean and steady. Perceived increases in violent crime were
consistent only with considerable localized fluctuations in different areas
rather than statistically significant underlying changes. Restorative
justice mechanisms were limited in scope. AusAID’s Independent
Completion Report too found that LJSP service delivery was
problematic. While the Report nonetheless supported the sectoral
approach as a homegrown initiative, this article questions its relevance.
The lack of significant reductions in crime victimization implies that,
local or not, the bureaucratic sectoral approach was a diversion from the
real community issues. (authors’ abstract)