Bougainville Community crime trends: A survey of crime in Arawa and Buka

• Main Authors: FINDLAY, Mark, GUTHRIE, Gerard, HUKULA, Fiona, LAKI, James
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2005
• Subjects: Crime; police; Arawa; Buka; Papua New Guinea; Criminal Law
• Online Access: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/sol_research/3284; https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/context/sol_research/article/5242/viewcontent/BougainvilleCommunityCrimeTrends_2004.pdf
• Institution: Singapore Management University

The fundamental difference in the role of the state in the recent histories of Arawa and Buka is critical to understanding community attitudes to crime and policing. In Arawa, the state was entirely absent for over 10 years during the civil war and community-based agencies provided the sole source of authority and social control. In Buka, the state remained in control in difficult circumstances. The peace process was based around indigenous dispute resolution techniques and now a role for the state is being gradually reintroduced into post-conflict Bougainville, including of policing services to Arawa. The differences in the recent histories of Arawa and Buka are important in understanding crime and security provision in the two towns. The community surveys asked for information about the nature and extent of crime affecting households and individuals in the two towns as reported by residents. In Arawa, 307 adults in 156 households were interviewed and in Buka 290 adults were interviewed in 119 households.