Ritika Pratap 
The Fiji Police Force has stated that crimes against women and children remain a concern.
In its latest statistics on the overall crime rate for last month, the Force states that 19 percent of crimes against women were sexual related while 81 percent were assault related.
The statistics further reveal that while 74 percent of crimes against children were sexual related and 26% assault related, they were committed in domestic settings by perpetrators known to the victims.
As police operations gear up for the busy festive season, the Acting Commissioner of Police Sakeo Raikaci has called on the Divisional Commanders to urgently address increases in serious offences.
ACP Raikaci says the Divisional Commanders should put in place strategies to counter illegal activities.
He adds they have to be aggressive in both their proactive and reactive approaches, plan accordingly and posture operations to ensure an incident free festive season.
The Acting Commissioner says elements that will exacerbate serious crimes need to be addressed as opportunists will be looking to exploit vulnerable members of the community through illegal means.
ACP Raikaci has also acknowledged community and stakeholder support as concerted efforts towards addressing the root causes of crimes from a national and community level has manifested positive changes particularly among youths.
The Force has reported an 11 percent decrease in overall crime for the past month, with 1,348 reports, down from 1,507 in 2022.
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