The Fiji police force has commenced relieving officers posted in affected areas.
With majority of these officers fatigued and most having lost their homes, the change in shifts will help officers recover.
The amount of assistance provided in the rehabilitation by agencies has relieved the men in blue to focus on the law.
A special response unit however is on standby to assist with recovery.
“We have relieved our officers because they have been working before, during and after the cyclone. Our intention is to have the consistency in terms of our deployment and our service delivery. So that is why we are trying to relieve the officers in Koro. Ten officers from the Eastern Division and our special response unit are there now. And most of the police officers in the West and on the islands of Ovalau, Koro and Vanuabalavu have their homes damaged completely or partially. Having that they have a role to play. So that is why we are trying to rotate our police officers so that the momentum continues and the consistency of our service delivery is there all the time,” said Police Chief of Operations, ACP Rusiate Tudravu.
For police its also about continuing their service delivery.
“There is not much report that has been received so far. Especially from evacuation centres. There are rumors of other speculation of the food ration and disgruntle people but our warning has been done to the members of the communities that they need to assist the government officials that are coming around in order for us to have a quick recovery,” Tudravu said.
However, an area of concern is the number of sexual offences recorded.
“We have recorded a few sexual offences reported case within our police station that is a concern for us on the number of complaints that are targeted towards women and children,” he said.
Vanuabalavu police staff will also undergo rotation as well.
Meanwhile, the Fiji Police Force will not tolerate those that abuse the assistance and services provided during the Cyclone Winston recovery period.
This comes to light after the stoning incident whereby village youths stoned FEA authorities whilst they were trying to conduct damage assessments and repairs.
Reports have also surfaced of Fijians living in affected communities abusing the rations given.
“There is only one incident that was reported to us from one village in Tailevu. Investigations is currently ongoing. We have taken in a few youths. We will not take things lightly. We are concentrating on providing that environment especially this time when people are desperately looking for assistance from government. People also need to report such cases so we can take action. We do not condone this and will investigate people who are unfairly treated and also if they are taking an advantage of the situation,” added the Police Chief of Operations.