Statement

The overall crime rate increased by 5% during the month of August, whereby 1,524 reports were registered compared to 1,456 reports for the same period last year.

Increases in crime were recorded in the Western, Eastern and Northern Divisions while the Southern and Central Divisions recorded decreases.

In other Key Performance Indicators (KPI) for the month of August, serious crime recorded a decrease of 20%, crimes against women a reduction of 11% and crimes against children a reduction of 38%.

A 26% increase in the number of illicit drug cases was registered as a result of special joint operations conducted with the Fiji Detector Dog Unit (FDDU) and Fiji Revenue and Customs Service Out of the 161 drug cases, the majority, totalling 147 cases, were related to the unlawful possession of illicit drugs.

The remaining 14 cases involved the unlawful cultivation of illicit drugs.

In terms of the types of drugs involved, approximately 11% (17 cases) were related to Methamphetamine.

The remaining 144 cases were related to the unlawful possession of Marijuana.

In anticipation of increased drug related activities nearing the festive season, operations will be beefed up targeting pushers/peddlers and suppliers.

While serious crimes recorded an overall decrease of 20%, offences that recorded increases were aggravated burglary, act with intent to commit rape and theft of motor vehicle.

Prevalent crimes registered during the month of August, were theft, burglary, assault, unlawful possession of illicit drugs and damaging property.

A number of theft cases had multiple counts.

There were 6 reports that had multiple counts (12 counts, 14 counts, 17 counts, 24 counts, 25 counts and 39 counts).

All of these cases involved withdrawal of cash or use of cheque for personal gains through Bank cards.

While crimes against women recorded a decrease of 11%, domestic violence dominates the number of reports.

Of the 177 reports, 16% were sexual offences while 84% were assault related.

Forty-five cases were domestic related perpetrated by a spouse, a de-facto partner or a relative.

The Acting Commissioner of Police Juki Fong Chew said the festive season will be demanding on operations and with petty thefts on the rise, stringent measures need to put in place to counter offences that are opportunistic in nature.

Mobile phones, jewelry, cash and electronic gadgets were mainly targeted by offenders with operations looking also at the receivers of stolen goods.

Acting Commissioner Chew said while the trend has shown that from January-June 2023 the number of overall crime cases is consistently lower than the five-year average, there is still a need to address opportunistic crimes which require consistent efforts of proactive community policing throughout the five divisions.