The Fiji Police Force this morning welcomed the third cohort of New Zealand Police officers who will continue the Fiji Police Partnership Program (FPPP) under the Duavata Partnership Agreement between Fiji and New Zealand.
The team is headed by Senior Advisor Joseph Tanga Hunter the Team Leader who takes over from (S.A) Mark Pakes who returned to New Zealand in December last year.
Other team members include S.A. Drew Cameron Bennett, S.A. Mary Jane Riddle, and S.A. Steven Willian Velu Smith. The team met with the Fiji Police Force Acting Commissioner Juki Fong Chew who welcomed them into the family.
Mr Chew said the Fiji Police are glad for the continued support over the past years through the various training and capabilities “We are grateful that NZ Police continues to assist us in the work that we do especially in fighting our common enemy which is crime.
Our partnership has continued to grow,” said Mr Chew. He adds that the Fiji Police Force is looking forward to whatever way they can assist the team.
“A good example is our K-9 capabilities and there is a lot of success stories with it. Especially with narcotics and we have been successful in detecting and arresting criminals who have been involved in drugs.”
Under the Duavata Partnership agreement, the New Zealand Government has committed to expanding practical bilateral and regional cooperation in defence, policing, border security, cyber security, and intelligence through deeper knowledge sharing and more regular exchanges, and shared training and operation.
The FPPP aims to enhance capacity and capabilities of the Fiji Police Force across the four outputs of;
1. Development of Investigative Interviewing capability.
2. Development of General Patrol Dog capability (K9).
3. Asset Recovery Support.
4. Development of Leadership & Governance capability.
The FPPP is also supported by the UNDP Pacific Office in Fiji.