Thirty people attend SARA model training in Mwaniwiriwiri village

Thirty people from Mwaniwiriwiri village, ward 11 in Makira-Ulawa Province have attended a training on SARA model on 7 June 2023.

The SARA model training was conducted by officers of the Royal Solomon Island Police Force (RSIPF) at Kirakira as part of the community engagement to deal with crime in the community.

The one-day meeting was conducted to women, youths, Church elders, village chiefs and one teacher from Mwaniwiriwiri primary school.

SARA stands for Scanning (identify and prioritise the problem), Analysis (use relevant data to pinpoint root causes of the problem) Response (identify and select interventions, develop and implement an action plan) Assessment (evaluate the effectiveness of the response).

Provincial Police Commander (PPC) Makira-Ulawa Province Superintendent Peter Sitai said the meeting has come about following a request received from the Chiefs and elders of the village for the police to help control the increase of antisocial behaviours in their communities.

PPC Sitai said as far as the leaders are concerned, the community continue to record an increase in homebrew production, marijuana cultivation and smoking, rebellious youths, act of common nuisance and domestic violence.

Superintendent Siatai said the training on SARA is so important in the context of crime prevention. It will help a person to understand well the crime drivers (alcohol and drugs, family violence, issues affecting youths, resources and environment) and how to respond effectively to them at the initial stage.

Mr Siatai said the presentation was done in groups with the aim to encourage equal participation, ease of barrier of being shy and learn to discuss openly as community over whatever issues of concern.

The joint effort by the community with the police is as important as the police alone can’t effectively tackle matters of crime, Sitai said.

Mr Mike Tagihaga, a primary school teacher from Mwaniwiriwiri primary school have acknowledged the police for the meeting.

The teacher said we had learnt more new things and appeal to everyone to put into practice what they have learnt.