The Fiji Police Force has organized a two-day Crime Free Symposium aimed at bringing together community stakeholders including town councils to ensure a crime free and safe Fiji for all.
Senior Superintendent, Unaisi Vuniwaqa(pictured) said through the formation of Crime Free Committees, Neighborhood Watch Zones and the declaration of Crime Free Towns and Cities, they have been able to encourage the people to work together with the Police Force in reducing crime.
“The Symposium is to bring together the Crime Free Committees that have been set up in towns and cities as well as in some maritime islands.
So far we have had two cities, fifteen towns and two maritime islands declared Crime Free zones. The purpose is to bring them together so that we can be able to communicate through dialogue and network on the way forward for the crime free initiatives that have been set up in the country,” she said.
She said they also expect to identify gaps that currently exist in some of the strategies that had been adopted and more importantly, for all members of the committees to be of the same understanding of what the crime free initiative is all about.
SS Vuniwaqa said one of the prominent forms of criminal offenses is theft offenses.
“It can be easily prevented, particularly if we all take responsibility towards ensuring that we have a safer and secure home and property.
That is one of the counter strategies towards the theft offenses and as we all know that the offender has a motive to commit an offense whereas the owner of the property cannot actually prevent the offense from being committed or there is no other person available to actually assist in the prevention of the offenses.
It demands a lot of contribution and participation from all stakeholders, “she added.
SS Vuniwaqa also highlighted that in the past five years, one of the category of offenses that has declined is robbery with violence.
“Robbery with violence or home invasion, as it’s commonly called, is like a day-to-day topic in the police force but in the past five years, we’ve seen a drastic decrease in this category of offenses and other serious offenses as well. It shows that there are four other forms of crime that are now beginning to emerge.
We need to be on the lookout for these crimes because if one type of crime is prevented, it can appear in another form and the police cannot work on this alone.”
SS Vuniwaqa has urged members of the public to work with the Police Force to ensure that criminal activities are dealt with, no matter in what form they appear.