Home Affairs Minister Pio Tikoduadua

Home Affairs Minister Pio Tikoduadua says they will review the Police Act to assess its applicability in the current policing environment.

Tikoduadua emphasizes that this is a long-term plan for his Ministry, as the law has been superseded on many fronts in terms of its effectiveness.

He highlights that the criminal landscape has evolved over the years, and it is crucial for them to be on par to investigate such activities effectively.

“Criminology has actually developed sooner, quicker than the law has allowed the police to be able to act on them either proactively or what you call reactively. So we need to do that because otherwise then the force will be left behind.”

Tikoduadua stresses that the Act must be relevant based on the current threats to the security of our environment.

Giving the example of the recent multi-million dollar drug bust in Legalega, Nadi, the Minister emphasizes that our legislation should discourage people from using Fiji as a drug hub.

“The laws are actually quite flimsy, quite weak. So if you get traces of people’s involvement, you can’t really use DNA in the best way that you want. At the moment, it is too restrictive to be able to prosecute people successfully or to allow police to go after people who done these evil things.”

In the short to medium term, the Home Affairs Ministry says they are looking at enhancing the community policing, increasing police visibility to ensure that the public feel safe.