150 New officers join Fiji Police Force

The Fiji Police Force has significantly bolstered its ranks with the graduation of 150 new Police Constables. The passing-out parade at Nasova Police Grounds marked the completion of an intensive 132-day training program for the Batch 69 recruits.

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Well, the passing out today, these officers will fill up the vacancies we have in the division. For us, the deployment plan is to push our manpower towards the station and also to the police post.

Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka, who officiated at the ceremony, urged the new constables to serve the public with integrity and professionalism. The recruits will receive a nationally accredited Level 4 Certificate in Policing under the Fiji National Qualifications Framework. Notably, the graduating class included 10 officers from the Tuvalu Police Service, underscoring ongoing regional cooperation in law enforcement training.

Police Commissioner Rusiate Tudravu stated that the new officers are crucial for filling existing vacancies across the country. He outlined a deployment plan to strengthen manpower at police stations and posts. The addition of these 150 officers is expected to enhance the operational capacity of the Fiji Police Force, particularly in combating transnational crime, drug trafficking, and other emerging security challenges.

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Today is a very bad day because a lot of tears came out. I don’t know why, but I thank all the comrades, all the instructors, that we stuck together from the beginning to the end.

The graduation was an emotional event, especially for the visiting officers from Tuvalu. Academy instructor Raj Prasad acknowledged the rigorous training, which involved early mornings and late nights for approximately 19 weeks. He praised the recruits' commitment and teamwork, emphasizing that working as a team is fundamental to the Fiji Police Force's operations.

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Actually, it is the endurance, it is the teamwork, at Fiji Police Force, we work as a team, we wake up early at 4 am, we sleep somewhere around 11 or 12 am in the morning and then the next morning we start again.