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Bougainville Community Crime Trends: A Survey Of Crime In Arawa And Buka, Mark Findlay, Gerard Guthrie, Fiona Hukula, James Laki

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

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 …