Opening of the Cyber Safety Tier 1 Training facility in Fiji


Cybercrime is viewed by the Policing community the world over as a major threat, and the Pacific region’s ability to tackle the crime has received a major boost following the opening of the Cyber Safety Tier 1 Training facility in Fiji.

The initiative is a collaboration between the Fiji Police Force and the Australian Federal Police and is envisaged to assist Pacific island law enforcement better equip its personnel with the knowledge of tacking the growing threats of cybersecurity.

The partnership will see the Fiji Police Academy team up with Cyber Safety Pasifika, an Australian Federal Police led program aimed at increasing cyber safety awareness and education of vulnerable communities in the Pacific region, and aimed at upskilling Pacific Police officers in cybercrime investigations.

The launch and opening of the Cyber Safety Tier 1 facility was also a key outcome of the Pacific Island Chiefs of Police Executive Leaders Team meeting held in American Samoa in August last year, whereby the Pacific Police Training Advisory Group teamed up with the Cyber Safety Pasifika to put together a comprehensive cybercrime training package.

In opening the refurbished facility at the Fiji Police Academy this morning, Police Commissioner Brigadier General Sitiveni Qiliho said it is a challenging time for policing all over the world with the COVID-19 pandemic situation, however it was incumbent on police institutions to ensure other areas of policing were not affected.

“Such is the life of policing, in that we are expected to forge on and adapt with situations that arise - and ensure that the overall safety and security of the people we serve is not impacted and the opening of today’s Cyber Safety Tier 1 Training facility is a testament of our continued efforts to ensure that while there are new emerging threats to security, we cannot lose sight of the ongoing issues confronting law enforcement such as cybercrime which is a major thorn on our side”.

“It’s great to have these investigations skills enhancement programs tailor-made for the Pacific because the scale of the crimes is different and therefore our ability to investigate and tackle these crimes will be different to more developed countries”.

Three Fijian Police officers from the Criminal Investigations Department have been identified for the initial rollout of the Tier 1 Training.