For newly commissioned Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary Inspector Walter Raikau, joining the police force, is more than the beginning of a new career.
It is a return to an environment he has known since childhood and a continuation of a family legacy that has been shaped by his father’s nearly four decades of service.
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Officer Raikau, from Paparom Village in the Yangoru-Saussia District of East Sepik Province, was among the cadet officers commissioned last Friday as inspectors after completing the RPNGC Officer Cadet training at the Bomana National Centre of Excellence.
His journey into the Constabulary has been closely connected to Bomana, where he spent part of his childhood and where his father, Chief Sergeant Mathew Raikau, serves as a senior instructor.
“I grew up under police roof at Bomana Police College, (now National Centre of Excellence). My dad, Chief Sergeant Mathew Raikau, is a police non-commissioned officer and is a senior instructor at NCOE,” Raikau said.
“The feeling of belonging in the Constabulary has always been there from the beginning.”
Raikau’s connection to Bomana began at an early age. He completed Grade 8 at Bomana Primary School in 2004 before attending De La Salle Secondary School, where he completed Grade 10 in 2006.
He later completed Grade 12 at Port Moresby National High School in 2008.
Rather than immediately following his father’s career into policing, Raikau chose education as a career.
He pursued tertiary studies at the University of Goroka and graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Education in 2013.
He then returned to the classroom, teaching at De La Salle Secondary School for eight years.
His years as a teacher gave him experience working with young people, families and communities, an experience he now carries into his new career as a police inspector.
Although he had considered joining the police after graduating from university, Raikau waited for an opportunity through the Officer Cadet Program, which matched his qualifications and professional experience.
Before entering cadet training, he also gained direct experience within the Constabulary.
From 2022 to 2023, he served at the RPNGC National Centre of Excellence, Bomana, as a Senior Examination Officer with the Curriculum Development Directorate.
That experience brought him back to the environment he had grown up around; this time not as a student or teacher but as a serving member of the Constabulary.
He later joined the Cadet Officer training in 2023 and was placed in Squad One.
For Raikau, his commissioning represents both a professional achievement and an important family milestone.
“It symbolizes a transition from civilian life into police life and most importantly, I’ll be taking over from my Dad who’ll be clocking 40 years in RPNGC in 2027. It’s a significant milestone for our family,” he told our reporter.
Following his father’s footsteps carries a deeper meaning for Raikau because he has witnessed police life from within his own family since childhood.
But his journey has not been without sacrifice.
The cadet training demanded discipline, commitment and resilience from those who undertook it.
For Raikau, however, the greatest challenge was not simply the demands of training.
It was being separated from his family.
“The greatest challenge was leaving my small family behind.”
Despite the separation, his family remained among his strongest sources of support throughout the training.
Former schoolmates and students also encouraged him during the journey, giving him another reminder of the relationships he had built during his years as an educator.
The experience reinforced the importance of integrity and personal responsibility as he prepared to become a commissioned officer.
“Doing the right thing will get you places and earn respect from your peers.”
Raikau’s eight-year period in the classroom has given him an experience that he believes will remain valuable in his policing career.
As a teacher, he worked closely with young people and their families.
Now, as a police officer, he will work with communities in a different capacity upholding the law, maintaining public safety and dealing with people from different backgrounds.
His former students have already noticed the transformation.
“I have students everywhere and whenever I put on the uniform and go out for my OJT attachments or on duty, students will always call out ‘Mr’ to me.”
For Raikau, those moments are a reminder that becoming a police officer does not mean leaving his teaching identity behind.
Instead, he believes the experience gained from teaching can help him communicate with people and build relationships in the communities he serves.
His first posting as a commissioned officer will be with Public Safety in Gulf Province, where he will begin the next stage of his career in frontline policing.
The move from the classroom to policing represents a major change, but Raikau believes the values of discipline, responsibility and service remain common to both professions.
Having completed the demanding cadet training himself, Raikau has a simple message for those considering a career in the Constabulary.
“Always put God first.”
He also urged prospective cadets to prepare themselves for the physical, financial, spiritual and mental demands of the training.
“Be prepared physically, financially, spiritually and mentally before coming in for training. It is one of the most challenging training in the country. Be eager to learn and most importantly, listen and follow instructions.”
His journey reflects a career built across two professions.
He began as a student at Bomana Primary School, grew up around police officers, became a teacher, returned to the RPNGC as a serving member and worked at the National Centre of Excellence before undertaking officer cadet training.
Now, he is beginning his own chapter as a commissioned Inspector.
For his father, who is approaching 40 years of service in the RPNGC, his son’s commissioning marks the continuation of a family connection to the Constabulary.
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For Raikau, it is more than following in his father’s footsteps.
It is an opportunity to build his own legacy-this time, from the classroom to the frontline of policing.