Police Commissioner Rusiate Tudravu has launched a month-long Inspectors Qualifying Course aimed at sharpening leadership among middle-ranking officers, urging participants to adopt a leadership model grounded in service and accountability. The course, opened by Tudravu at the Fiji Police training college, is the latest phase in a concerted push to build managerial capability within the force as crime patterns become more complex.
Tudravu used the opening to remind officers that promotion brings higher expectations, greater responsibility and heavier workloads. He stressed that stepping into leadership roles requires not only operational competence but also an expanded understanding of how to lead teams ethically and effectively under pressure, including increased emphasis on accountability to the public.
The Inspectors Qualifying Course is being jointly delivered by the Fiji Police Force training cadre and the Australian Institute of Police Management (AIPM). Through AIPM’s Pacific Faculty of Policing, the partnership brings specialised leadership material and regional policing insights to the local training environment. The program is designed specifically to strengthen the decision-making, supervision and strategic skills of officers preparing for inspector-level command.
This initiative complements earlier international engagements in officer development. In July, cohorts of Fiji officers completed leadership training facilitated by the UK College of Policing, marking one strand of broader international cooperation to bolster policing standards. The new AIPM-backed course represents a parallel and sustained investment in middle-management capability, delivered closer to home and tailored to the Pacific context.
Organisers say the course responds to the evolving nature of crime in Fiji and the region, where transnational, organised and technology-enabled offences increasingly demand sophisticated responses from police leaders. The training package focuses on specialised development programs for middle-ranking officers so they can better coordinate teams, make informed operational decisions and uphold public trust through accountable leadership practices.
Commissioner Tudravu also encouraged participants to continuously expand their leadership knowledge so they can guide their teams more effectively as policing challenges change. The combined delivery model with AIPM is intended to expose officers to international best practice while ensuring skills are adaptable to Fiji’s legal, cultural and operational environment.
The month-long Inspectors Qualifying Course is the latest in a sequence of capacity-building measures by the Fiji Police Force that leverage external partnerships while developing domestic training capabilities. By concentrating on service-oriented and accountable leadership at the inspector level, the force aims to strengthen frontline supervision and improve outcomes for communities across Fiji.
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