Luan hits 40 years of policing in Lae

For 40 years, Chief Inspector James Luan has been a familiar face in the police service in Lae.

He joined the Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary in 1985 as a young man looking for work. Four decades later, he is still in uniform and has spent his entire police career serving in Lae.

“I've been serving in Lae for 40 years. Continuous service in Lae only,” Luan said. “I've never transferred to any parts of Morobe Province, any districts in Morobe, or any other provinces in Papua New Guinea. All my 40 years of service has been in Lae only.”

Luan's entry into the police force was not something he had planned. He completed teachers college in 1984 and was offered a teaching position in Western Highlands province. His parents were concerned about him travelling to the islands and advised him not to take the job. While looking for another opportunity, he noticed that police were recruiting.

“I did not have the ambition to be a police officer. It was just an opportunity that I saw,” he said. “I was looking for a job. When I noticed that they were looking for new police recruits, I just went in there and applied. I got selected and that's where I am now.”

Luan completed six months of basic constable training at Bomana before he was posted to Lae in February 1986. That was the beginning of a career that would see him serve in different police units and stations across the city.

From 1990 to 1996, he served with the Unitech Campus Police. He later worked at Chinatown Police Station, gaining experience in one of Lae's busy urban areas. His career progressed through the ranks. He became a senior constable in 1992, sergeant in 2006, senior sergeant in 2010 and chief sergeant in 2014.

In 2020, he became a senior inspector before being promoted to chief inspector four years after. For Luan, each promotion represented another stage of a career that began almost by chance. As a young constable, he watched senior officers and imagined himself one day wearing the sergeant's rank.

“When I was a constable, I saw a lot of sergeants around wearing this rank and I thought that one day I'll be a sergeant,” he said. “That was the rank that I loved in the force.”

He eventually moved beyond that rank and into the commissioned ranks. But the years in between were not always easy.

“It's a very challenging career. We deal with people. A lot of people come to us with their problems and there are a lot of law and order issues,” he said.

His work also included national election operations.

Luan led police contingents from Lae to the islands during several elections. Throughout those years, he remained based in Lae. He said senior officers he worked under also had an important influence on his career. Their leadership, communication and professionalism helped shape the way he approached his own work.

After four decades in the police force, Luan said discipline and humility are among the important lessons he has learnt. He also wants younger officers to understand that difficult working conditions should not stop them from serving the public.

“You might have ups and downs. You don't have resources, you might not have logistics, but do whatever you can to serve the people,” he said. “The service is more important.”

For Luan, serving people also means having a good relationship with the communities. He believes police officers need to spend time talking to people, listening to their concerns and working with them to find solutions.

“We need to work closely with the communities, talk to them, sit down with them, hear their problems and find some solutions,” he said. “That's all about working together in partnership.”

Luan started his police career when he was about 20. He had not planned to become a policeman. He was simply looking for a job after deciding not to take up his teaching appointment. That decision led him to Bomana, then to Lae, where he would spend the next 40 years.

From senior constable to sergeant, senior sergeant, chief sergeant, senior inspector and now chief inspector, his career has moved forward while his posting has remained the same.

Lae has been the only place he has known as a policeman. For four decades, James Luan has continued to serve the city he first arrived in as a young constable.