Papua New Guinea’s police force is beginning a process to try and regain the trust of the people after a series of allegations of serious police misconduct were revealed.

Story after story has emerged in local media outlets of assaults by policemen against children, teenagers and motorists all over the country.

Chief Superintendent Joanne Clarkson, the highest ranking female officer in the country, admits changing police behaviour and public opinion will be a huge challenge.

“You can have a strategic plan or a direction in which you want to move an organisation – but getting everyone involved in implementing that vision and implementing the reform is a huge task,” she said.

The new police modernisation programme worth 276 million kina (A$120 million) is going towards eight specific projects.

Superintendent Clarkson, who is the Assistant Commissioner of Reforms, says one of the biggest tasks is turning the Bomana Police Training College into a centre of excellence.

“The idea is that we would like to deliver a professional police service through our people,” she said.

“Therefore, the target is on making sure that we train people who are fit for the job that we’re sending them out to do.”

Papua New Guinea’s local media has been full of stories of police behaving badly, from the involvement of the Police Mobile Squad in the deadly violence on Manus Island to allegations of a brutal assault against a female officer.

Most recently the front page of Wednesday’s Post Courier newspaper was a shocking and confronting sight.

Under the headline ‘Wife-bashing cop charged’ was a photo of a badly beaten woman’s face.

A police officer herself, Senior Constable Nancy Samson was left with both eyes swollen closed and darkly bruised, her nose at an odd angle and the corner of her mouth seemingly split open.

She came forward after photographs of her battered face were posted to PNG forums on Facebook, and told the media she had suffered years of violence at the hands of her husband.

“Since we got married, he was so abusive, so violent,” she said.

Her husband, John Bain, is a policeman and a bodyguard for a state minister. He was arrested and charged this week.

While domestic violence is considered widespread in Papua New Guinea, the sickening photos of Samson sparked an online outcry that spilled into action resulting in the arrest.

Another recent case of police brutality again sprang from PNG’s energetic Facebook community.

A video of a man being mauled by police dogs was posted online and caused outrage.

The victim Paul Willie alleges he was doing nothing wrong when he was detained by police, driven out of town, and set upon by the dogs until he fled into the nearby bush.

“I thought if I keep sitting here, the dogs will bite me and I’ll die a painful death, so I made a run for it,” he said.

“I thought, if the police shoot me at least I’ll die quickly.”

The government also has plans to establish a secretariat to deal with gender-based violence.