A multi-agency team has successfully established Crime Prevention Maritime Security Committees across the nine tikinas in Kadavu, thanks to the support of the UNDP Pacific Office in Fiji. This initiative is a result of the Community Policing-Vanua-Multi-agencies Crime Prevention and Maritime Security model, which was introduced by Fiji’s Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka during the Kadavu Provincial Council meeting held in July.
The program, titled “Solesolevaki ni Veitaqomaki; Matanitu, Vanua kei na Lotu,” aims to empower communities in coastal regions by combining community policing with maritime security. It emphasizes the integration of traditional authority and vanua governance to enhance crime prevention and maritime safety.
To implement this comprehensive strategy, stakeholders including the Republic of Fiji Navy, Fiji Police Force, Maritime Safety Authority of Fiji, Fiji Revenue and Customs Service, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Fisheries, Ministry of Home Affairs, and the Kadavu Provincial Council are collaborating. This coalition seeks to enable licensed boat operators and local residents to act as vigilant monitors of Fiji’s maritime zones, thereby strengthening surveillance and security at sea.
Kadavu has been chosen as the pilot location for the solelevaki initiative.