Meet Your Officers

"You need to have an attitude of perseverance, self-sacrifice, and hard work to be successful in this field.”

These are the words of Mr Ilaisa Kacivakanadina Tamanalevu a Senior Scientific Officer in the Forensics Department, Biology DNA Unit, when describing the characteristics of anyone wanting to join the specialized field.

As part of this series where we introduce you to your Police officers, we will also feature members of the civilan cadre, who are also integral members of the organization, working in various Units and Divisions throughout the country.

Mr Tamanalevu is a civilian staff of the Fiji Police Force and hails from Naimasimasi Village, Vugalei, Tailevu with maternal links to Lutu Village, Wainibuka Tailevu.

“There are 10 of us in our Unit, and the work load has doubled this past year, so we have to work as a team, and share the work load, one has to put in the needed sacrifice in order to complete our tasking,” Mr Tamanalevu said.

“Last year we handled a total of about 750 cases, and the number of cases has been increasing every month since November 2021.

Police investigators are utilizing our services a lot, so if you have the right attitude and mindset you’ll function well in this unit,” he added.

The father of 4 says those wanting to join the Unit as a Technical Officer, or Scientific Officer, need to have a Bachelor of Science Degree with a major in Biology being an advantage.

The 32-year-old joined the Forensics Department on March 4th 2019, and said that he been impressed with the High Standard of Forensic work done by the Unit.

“I can say that our work is on par with regional standards and the lab is the best in the South Pacific,” he said.

“Though we may need some next generation devices to assist in the work, the standard of results we’ve produced here is the same as those of advanced countries,” he added.

The former Mahatma Gandhi Memorial High School student holds a Master’s of Science Degree, with a major in Chemistry, from the University of the South Pacific.

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