Police initiate internal disciplinary proceedings for Officers at the Valelevu Police Station – ACP Driu

Assistant Commissioner of Police Operations (ACP) Livai Driu says internal disciplinary proceedings have been initiated against officers based at the Valelevu Police Station for their conduct in the handling of a report against another police officer last week while the Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre is questioning the Police whether it is right for a person who is legally married to a woman to commit horrible actions against her including murder.

ACP Driu says the conduct of the two police officers, who were the subject of the viral video, is also being investigated by the Internal Affairs Unit.

He further says due processes will be followed, and upon the completion of the investigation, appropriate charges as per internal policies will be laid.

The Assistant Commissioner says they have also identified shortfalls in the handling of the matter, and these are being addressed through mentoring, training, and heightened monitoring of internal processes and procedures.

He adds they accept the criticisms levelled against the organization as a way of learning and are actively working on addressing these issues that have affected policing over a number of years.

ACP Driu says as an organisation, they are committed to rebuilding trust within our communities and recognize that it starts from within.

While responding to the pathetic response from police when a woman and her children were threatened with violence that has been widely shared on social media, the FWCC Coordinator Shamima Ali says the woman who put this out is very brave, and she has told the story of what many women face when they report their partner or husband at the Police Station for domestic violence cases.

She says some women wait for hours to be served when they are at the station.

Ali says the Police Officers need real training on gender violence against women and human rights to understand the dynamics and the need to get this training from experts.

She says the Police have to get back to policing, and we need to have trained people with expertise, the knowledge of the law, and of policing in all areas at the academy.

The FWCC Coordinator says Police need to know how to obtain a Domestic Violence Restraining Order for women who bring in their concerns about domestic violence, but this is not happening as women are only counselled and left to return to their homes.

She adds that the no-drop policy is not working anymore.

Ali also revealed that in one murder case that occurred in Vanua Levu some years back, the woman had gone to the Police Station to report the death threats from her partner, but the response from the officer at the Police Station was that they could not do anything because nothing has happened and she has to call them if anything occurs.

She says a few weeks later, the woman’s partner committed the things he was saying, which ended up in the death of the woman.

Ali is calling on the Police Force to take threats seriously, and if the perpetrator is a Police Officer, it will be a double jeopardy for the woman who is complaining.

Meanwhile, the mother of three was seen in the video, crying and asking some officers to remove her partner from their home as she was concerned about her and her family's safety.

The mother of three alleges that her husband is violent and is not living with them as he had an affair with another woman.

The video also shows that police officers had told the mother that they could not remove her partner because there wasn't any report lodged.

The mother says that when she went to the Valelevu Police Station, she was not served for about 5 hours, and an officer at the Station told her that they could not do anything as they were still legally married.

She also says that services provided to her at the Valelevu Police Station were pathetic as she claimed that she even told the officers at the Station that ACP Mesake Waqa had directed officers to arrest her partner, but the officers at the Station did not listen.

The woman also says when she told them she would call ACP Waqa again to inform him of the treatment she received, the officers at the Station tried to plead with her not to make the call.

The mother of three says she was disappointed with the services provided to her at the Valelevu Police Station when handling domestic violence cases, and if she dies, it's the Police's fault as they did not take her concern seriously.