Law enforcement in Fiji

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Fiji police band MUSICAL WELCOME.jpg
Fiji police band

Fiji has a unified national police force, the Fiji Police Force (FPF), whose motto is Salus Populi meaning "the welfare of the people".

Contents

History

Armed Native Constabulary

The Armed Native Constabulary (ANC) was formed by Governor Arthur Hamilton Gordon when he renamed the Native Regiment to the Armed Native Constabulary to lessen its appearance of being a military force in the aftermath of the Little War. [1] The first officers of this force were appointed by a notice in the Royal Gazette dated on October 10, 1874. The Aide-de-camp (ADC) to the Governor, Royal Marine Lieutenant Henry Olive was appointed to be the Superintendent of the police, despite not having experience in performing or managing policing duties. The ANC was described as a military force, not a Police Force, but it was always commanded by a police officer. There were four different classes of police at that time, which were:

The Armed Native Constabulary was the first government Department to move and transfer its headquarters to Suva, after the Governor and his staff left Levuka at midnight on October 30, 1882 and traveled by ship to Suva. The ANC moved into the Suva Police Station. The Armed Native Constabulary was mobilized during the Tuka Rebellions in 1894 by Governor John Bates Thurston to destroy the certain towns in the highlands of Vanua Levu and their religious relics after local villagers began re-engaging with their traditional religion. Tribal Leaders were imprisoned and the villagers were either exiled or forced to amalgamate into government-run communities. [2] The Armed Native Constabulary was reported to be abolished in 1906, but Gravelle indicates that they were mobilized again in 1915 to arrest Apolosi Nawai and his followers, after Apolosi spearheaded the Fijian Tuka resistance by founding Viti Kabani, a co-operative company that would legally monopolize the agricultural sector and boycott European planters. [3] [4]

Royal Fiji Police Force

The Police Act of 1965, that was commenced on January 1, 1966, renamed the police force in Fiji to the Royal Fiji Police Force (RFPF). [5] [6] [7] On June 15, 1967, ROY T.M. Henry came from Sarawak to take over as the Commissioner of Police in Fiji, where he served for six years until it became independent. [8] In a report dated as being from 1967, under the heading Recruitment and Training, it was recorded that for the first time that there was a significant increase in the academic achievements of Police recruits. In addition to offering a recruit course, the Fiji Police Academy offered leadership courses for constables, a fingerprinting course, and anti-burglary course were also held. Other island territories, specifically Gilbert Islands (now Kiribati), the New Hebrides (now Vanuatu), the Solomon Islands, and Tonga, sent officers and men to the Fiji Police Academy for police training during 1960s. In the 1960s, the Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) and the Methodist Church began encouraging the Colonial Government to recognize the status of women, which helped establish the idea of recruiting policewomen in Fiji. In December of 1968, the colonial government agreed to organize a program that would recruit women into a police organization known as the Special Constabulary. The government had not explicitly stated what role women would play in the organization; as well as if and when they should be fully integrated into the Fiji Police. In 1968, the first eight women were recruited to form the Special Constabulary, who were:

The Special Constabulary continued to serve in that capacity until mid 1970s, after the Government yielded to pressure and decided to admit that women as an integral part of the Police Force. Six Special Constables were selected with seven other individuals to create the first batch of thirteen women recruits to undertake the recruit course to join the RFPF. After Fiji gained it's independence from the United Kingdom on October 10, 1970, control over the police was transferred to the Fijian Minister for Home Affairs. [9]

The second coup d'état of 1987 and the Fiji Police Force

On September 25, 1987, following a prior coup d'état that happened on May 14, 1987, a second coup d'état happened, which both were led by Lieutenant Colonel Sitiveni Rabuka. [10] [11] On October 5 or 6, 1987, Fiji was declared a Republic, which ended the English monarchy's rule of Fiji. The Commonwealth of Nations held a meeting in Vancouver and the heads of the Commonwealth governments moved to expel Fiji from the Commonwealth of Nations. The impact on the police force was that the word royal was removed, leaving it as the Fiji Police Force. [12]

The Fijian Commissioner of Police title had been held by Australian police officer Andrew Hughes since 2003 but after the 2006 takeover of the Government the post has been reserved for a local (Ioane Naivaluru [13] a). The current Fijian Commissioner of Police is Brigadier Sitiveni Qiliho.

Organization

Executive Structure

The "Fiji Police Force Annual Report between August 2020 - July 2021" states that the organization of the FPF consists of the following: [14]

The Commissioner is appointed in accordance with the Constitution of Fiji, chapter 7, part 4, section 111. Section 111 establishes the office of Commissioner of Police. This official is appointed by the Constitutional Offices Commission, following consultation with the appropriate Cabinet Minister. The Commissioner of Police holds executive and administrative authority over the entire police force and is answerable only to the Minister in charge. Parliament may, however, make laws regulating the police force.

Fiji has a single local police force, on Rabi Island.

Structure

The FPF is divided into various squads and units including: [15]

Ranks

Fiji Police ranks and insignia
Rank
(unknown-Present)
Commissioner Deputy commissioner Assistant commissioner Senior superintendent Superintendent Assistant superintendent Inspector Sergeant major Sergeant Corporal Constable
Epaulette insignia Chief Constable.svg Blank.svg Deputy Chief Constable.svg Blank.svg CSupt Epaulette.svg Supt.svg Insp.svg Blank.svg PS Epaulette.svg Blank.svg UK police constable epaulette, 2016.svg
Rank
(1968-unknown)
Commissioner Deputy commissioner Assistant commissioner Senior superintendent Superintendent Deputy superintendent Assistant superintendent Senior inspector Inspector Sergeant major Sergeant Corporal Constable
Epaulette insignia Chief Constable.svg Blank.svg Assistant Chief Constable.svg Blank.svg CSupt Epaulette.svg Supt.svg CInsp.svg Insp.svg Sub Divisional Inspector.png Blank.svg PS Epaulette.svg Blank.svg UK police constable epaulette, 2016.svg
Rank
(Before 1968)
Commissioner Deputy commissioner Assistant commissioner Senior superintendent Superintendent Deputy superintendent Assistant superintendent Inspector Sub inspector Sergeant major Sergeant Corporal Constable
Epaulette insignia Chief Constable.svg Blank.svg Assistant Chief Constable.svg Blank.svg CSupt Epaulette.svg Supt.svg CInsp.svg Insp.svg Sub Divisional Inspector.png Blank.svg PS Epaulette.svg Blank.svg UK police constable epaulette, 2016.svg

Other Police Forces found in the Southern Pacific Ocean

References

  1. Gordon, Arthur Hamilton (1879). "Letters and Notes Written During the Disturbances in the Highlands (known as the "Devil County") of Viti Levu, Fiji, 1876, Volume 2", Volume 2, Privately printed by R . and R. Clark, https://archive.org/details/lettersandnotes00stangoog
  2. Nicole, Robert (2011). Disturbing History. University of Hawaii Press. ISBN   9780824860981. Archived from the original on 16 April 2018. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
  3. Fiji Police Force "ABOUT US" Fiji Police, ITC Services, Fiji, 2025, https://www.police.gov.fj/aboutus, Date accessed: September 6, 2025
  4. Gravelle, pp. 179–183
  5. Colonial Government of Fiji (1965) "CHAPTER 85 POLICE" United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, https://sherloc.unodc.org/cld/uploads/res//uncac/LegalLibrary/Fiji/Laws/Fiji%20Police%20Act%201966.pdf, Date accessed: September 7, 2025
  6. Fijian Office of the Attorney General (December 1, 2016) "Police Act 1965" Fijian Office of the Attorney General, Fijian Office of the Attorney General, 2019, https://www.laws.gov.fj/Acts/DisplayAct/987#, Date accessed: September 7, 2025
  7. Fiji Police Force "FIJI POLICE ACT REVIEW" Fiji Police, ITC Services, Fiji, 2025, https://www.police.gov.fj/aboutus, Date accessed: September 7, 2025
  8. Hong Kong Police Force "Remembering Roy" Offbeat Online, Offbeat, 1997, https://www.police.gov.hk/offbeat/632/features.html, Date Accessed: September 7, 2025
  9. Fiji Police Force "ABOUT US" Fiji Police, ITC Services, Fiji, 2025, https://www.police.gov.fj/aboutus, Date accessed: September 7, 2025
  10. Lal 2010, p. 350.
  11. "Fiji coup leader declares republic". The New York Times . 7 October 1987. Retrieved 15 May 2019.
  12. Fiji Police Force "ABOUT US" Fiji Police, ITC Services, Fiji, 2025, https://www.police.gov.fj/aboutus, Date accessed: September 10, 2025
  13. Fiji Police Force. "Fiji Police Force senior officers". www.police.gov.fj. Fiji Police Force. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
  14. Fiji Police Strategic Planning, Research & Development Unit (July, 2023) "Annual Report August 2020 - July 2021" Fiji Police Force, The Fijian Government, https://www.parliament.gov.fj/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Fiji-Police-Force-Annual-Report-August-2020%E2%80%93July-2021.pdf, Date accessed: August 30, 2025
  15. Fiji Police Strategic Planning, Research & Development Unit (July, 2023) "Annual Report August 2020 - July 2021" Fiji Police Force, The Fijian Government, https://www.parliament.gov.fj/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Fiji-Police-Force-Annual-Report-August-2020%E2%80%93July-2021.pdf, Date accessed: August 30, 2025
  16. Krishant, Reveel (5/27/2020). "More drug raids in the North", Communications Fiji Limited, https://www.fijivillage.com/news/More-drug-raids-in-the-North-5f4rx8
  17. Administrator (July 3, 2023) "IT MANAGER CHARGED" Fiji Police, ITC Services, Fiji, 2025, https://www.police.gov.fj/view/2717, Date accessed: September 4, 2025
  18. Administrator (November 28, 2019) "TRAFFICKING IN PERSON AND PEOPLE SMUGGLING WORKSHOP" Fiji Police, ITC Services, Fiji, 2025, https://www.police.gov.fj/view/52, Date accessed: September 4, 2025
  19. U.S. Department of State "2024 Trafficking in Persons Report: Fiji" U.S. Department of State, U.S. Department of State, https://www.state.gov/reports/2024-trafficking-in-persons-report/fiji/, Date accessed: September 4, 2025
  20. U.S. EMBASSY SUVA (MAY 27, 2022) "FIJI POLICE FORCE HOSTS GRADUATION CEREMONY IN FIJI" U.S. EMBASSY IN FIJI, KIRIBATI, NAURU, AND TUVALU, U.S. EMBASSY IN FIJI, KIRIBATI, NAURU, AND TUVALU, https://fj.usembassy.gov/fiji-police-force-hosts-graduation-ceremony-in-fiji/, Date accessed: September 4, 2025

Cited Sources