East Sepik launches free police emergency call centre with NICTA support
East Sepik Province has launched a new Police Emergency Call Centre, allowing the public to contact law enforcement free of charge through the national emergency number 112.
The initiative, led by the National Information and Communications Technology Authority [NICTA] in partnership with the Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary [RPNGC], aims to improve emergency response and public safety across the province.
Provincial Police Commander Superintendent Christopher Tamari welcomed the development, saying; “Policing requires communication. Policing in East Sepik needs a call centre number to give comfort to our people, and I thank NICTA for coming on board.”
Tamari explained that previous efforts to establish a toll-free number with Digicel faced sustainability issues.
“We’ve tried with Digicel with a toll-free number. Unfortunately, sustainability was a main challenge. Thankfully, NICTA has come on board and now the numbers are free of charge,” he said.
East Sepik PPC Christopher Tamari, Director Engineering & Resource Planning Hans Adeg and Senior Engineer Networks Maxwell Badui (NBC News)
Despite the progress, Tamari raised concerns about maintaining the service and expressed his desire for a fully operational emergency centre.
“I want, as much as possible, a 24/7 police emergency operating call centre. Unfortunately, manpower is still a major challenge, which the police department is working very hard to address. But nevertheless, this is the beginning of what is to come.”
NICTA Director of Engineering and Resource Planning Hans Adeg said the East Sepik rollout follows similar projects in East New Britain and Western Highlands Provinces.
“It is our pleasure to be involved in this project here in East Sepik,” he said. “This initiative started in 2023 with implementations in East New Britain and Mount Hagen, and now it’s Wewak.”
Adeg explained the financial model behind toll-free services.
“Toll-free numbers are not free. They are reverse charged, meaning whoever is providing the service pays the bill. If the police are providing the toll-free number in East Sepik, the police department pays the service providers for the calls received," he said. To the public, the line is free, but to the police, they have to pay.”
He clarified that emergency numbers like 112 are treated differently under the law.
“Under the NICTA Act 2009, 112 is free. Operators are obliged to route calls to these numbers totally free of charge. That’s the importance of this number. That’s why we want emergency service providers to have these numbers back and operational, that includes ambulance and fire.”
Adeg added that it would be good to have a setup like 911, but that’s something to work towards in the future. For now, emergency service providers must have something in place.
NICTA has installed four phones at the East Sepik Provincial Police Headquarters with three in the Communications Office and one at the General Duties counter.
“NICTA is only installing the facility. It is now up to the PPC and the Provincial Government to maintain and ensure the necessary resources are in place to keep the facility fully functional,” Adeg said.
Acting East Sepik Provincial Administrator Alphone Kami who attended the launch, praised the initiative.
“This is something to bring up to the Provincial Management Team to get the East Sepik Provincial Government to support and maintain this very vital service,” he said.
He congratulated PPC Tamari for a job well done in achieving one of his key responsibility areas as the Provincial Police Commander for East Sepik.
Representatives from the Fire Service, provincial stakeholders, and members of the public witnessed the launch. The new call centre is now operational and expected to strengthen emergency communication and enhance public safety across East Sepik Province.