Chiefs, church leaders, elders and women in the Green Valley area in East Honiara have welcomed a team of the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force (RSIPF) who conducted a community awareness meeting on 3 June 2018.
The RSIPF team included an officer from the National Community Policing Department and the Naha Police Station
Senior Sergeant Martin Haga of the National Community Policing Department says, “The aim of this program is to provide awareness talks to community members at Green Valley on how they can help with crime prevention in their communities.”
Senior Sergeant Haga says, “The meeting is also an opportunity for police to assist the Green Valley Community to set up their own Crime Prevention Committee in order to assist police.”
“Green Valley is one of the hotspot communities in town with an increase in anti-social behaviour especially related to alcohol, drugs and family violence. I believe this awareness program will help them to address these community issues,” says Senior Sergeant Haga.
Officer in Charge of the Naha Police Station, Superintendent Ben Jonathan says, “The awareness talk focused on the Crime Prevention Strategy as one of the modern methods of policing that links the police with the community to tackle issues that are currently affecting the community.”
Superintendent Jonathan adds: “During presentations at the Green Valley community awareness talk there were strong words of encouragement from the chiefs, church leaders and elders for the community to work with the police to address issues of alcohol and kwaso and other illicit drugs that are causing disturbances and problems in their community.”
“The people present during the meeting at Green Valley agreed to form a crime prevention committee and plans are underway to hold a meeting to choose members of the committee,” says Superintendent Jonathan.
He says, “Community leaders in Green Valley thanked the Police for visiting them to rebuild the relationship with each other and for the people to know about how the Crime Prevention Strategy could assist to prevent crime in their area.”