Officers of the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force (RSIPF) have been urged to do more and to make a difference when responding to Family Violence (FV) incidents as it is still at a crisis level in the country.
“Let’s be honest, the rate of violence against women and girls in Solomon Islands is sky high. It has reached a crisis point but since the Family Protection Act (FPA) was passed in 2014 we still not making enough difference,” says RSIPF Commissioner, Matthew Varley.
Speaking today (10 September 2018) to about 20 RSIPF Family Violence Coordinators from Honiara and the provinces who are attending a two-week workshop at the Rove Police Headquarters, Commissioner Varley revealed: “Since the introduction of the FPA in 2014 there have only been 2,000 family violence (FV) cases reported to date. Of these only 61 FV cases have resulted in prosecutions under the FPA. Although other charges may have been laid under the Penal Code, this is still not good enough. We need to do more to prosecute FV offenders under the Family Protection Act,” says Commissioner Varley.
He adds: “There is evidence to support that FV is being under reported through either incorrect offence classification of assault instead of FV, or insufficient police action at the time of receiving a complaint of FV. Many FV complaints are also being dealt with by way of traditional mediation and reconciliation.”
“There is much more that we as police officers can do. This is what this two-week workshop is about. As Family Violence Coordinators at your different stations you can take leadership of this issue,” says Commissioner Varley.
He told the Workshop participants: “Whatever we do, when we attend to any FV report, I only ask you to do one thing and that is to do something! Don’t walk away or make any excuses. Don’t say it is someone else’s problem. Let us intervene and make a difference. Police have a very important responsibility. People call us when they need help. It is our duty to help them. ”
The FV Coordinators Workshop, which is being held 10 – 21 September, is designed to provide participants with a more holistic learning experience and as such, the workshop contains a health and wellbeing component, Operational Safety Training (OST) and JIMS (Justice Information Management System) Training. The workshop is coordinated and funded as a joint project with the Solomon Islands Police Development Program (SIPDP).