RSIPF Commissioner Matthew Varley, Deputy Commissioner Gabriel Manelusi and Chief of Staff Evelyn Thugea are in Guam this week to participate in the Pacific Islands Chiefs of Police (PICP) Conference.
Chief Joseph Cruz of the Guam Police Department hosted today's opening ceremony. The conference has brought together chiefs and commissioners of police from almost 20 countries across the Pacific.
In his opening address, Chief Joe Cruz said: "The challenges that the profession of law enforcement presents in the 21st century requires that we continuously collaborate with each other in order to provide the best service and protection to our respective communities. As we all come from the far reaches within the Pacific, we must remember that we are not many islands separated by a large body of water, but in fact one region connected by an ocean."
Today's conference sessions included briefings from PICP working groups on strategies to improve cooperation in areas such as crime prevention, family violence, cyber safety, police training and forensics.
Another important session was a briefing on the PICP Women's Advisory Network. This session followed the PICP WAN conference which was held last week, and was focused on advising the chiefs of police on issues to support women in policing.
Commissioner Varley, Deputy Commissioner Manelusi and Chief Superintendent Thugea also met with other pacific islands delegations. In particular, they met with Vanuatu Police Commissioner Albert Nalpini and Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary Deputy Commissioner, Frances Tokura (Chief of Bougainville Police) to discuss police cooperation with our close neighbours.
The PICP conference will continue until Thursday this week.