CHURCH LEADERS AND REPRESENTATIVES SUPPORT CRIME PREVENTION DRIVE
REPORTS OF SERIOUS CRIMES HAVE DROPPED IN KADAVU SINCE THE DRUG OPERATIONS BEGAN IN JUNE LAST YEAR. ‘Kadavu has a proud history of being an island of prosperity and great wealth before the cultivation of the illicit drug became rife on the island.’
The Acting Commissioner of Police, Rusiate Tudravu has acknowledged and commended the executives of the Methodist Church of Fiji and Rotuma in supporting the ongoing crime prevention efforts on the island of Kadavu.
This follows a weeklong specialised training and awareness programme conducted by the Methodist Church’s Reverend Iliesa Koroi, Reverend Ili Vunisuwai and Reverend Sitiveni Kua at Namalata Village specifically focused on spreading awareness messages on the harmful impacts of the illicit drug trade through Biblical teachings and ideologies.
Close to 200 Church leaders, stewards, youth volunteers and members of the community from around Kadavu showed their interest in helping spread the awareness messages in their respective communities.
Last year, Acting Commissioner Tudravu paid a courtesy call to the president of the Methodist Church of Fiji, Reverend Epineri Vakadewavosa ,whereby discussions were held on how the church could assist crime prevention efforts in Kadavu through the Duavata Community Policing umbrella because religion played an important role in ongoing efforts to curb the illicit drug trade.
Discussions revolved around the ongoing efforts on the war against drugs whereby church executives pledged to assist efforts on the island of Kadavu with the recent spike in drug related activities.
The church had gathered stewards from around Kadavu and conducted the second of a series of spiritual enhancement training to help deliver crime prevention messages from the pulpits.
Acting Commissioner Tudravu said despite the negative comments uttered about the ongoing efforts, the operations would continue with great momentum as lives were at stake and Police could not afford to do nothing. “The Fiji Police Force is truly grateful to the president of the Methodist Church and senior executives for seeing through our request for assistance through its members on the island as religion plays an influential role in people’s lives,” he said.
“Kadavu has a proud history of being an island of prosperity and great wealth before the cultivation of the illicit drug became rife on the island and there are thousands of others who are earning their living through honest means so to say that the cultivation of marijuana is an easy source of income is not an acceptable excuse”.
The Acting Commissioner says the social consequences are far too great to be ignored or to put a monetary value because once an innocent life is affected, their families and communities are affected.
“We are trying to protect the future generation from being exposed to these illegal activities and we will
explore all avenues possible through our partners and stakeholders to rid society of this illicit activity,” he said.
Kadavu Crime
According to the Kadavu Police Station officer inspector Josua Daveta, reports of serious crimes had dropped since the drug operations began in June last year.
Inspector Daveta said they have noted that serious crimes such as domestic violence and sexual offences had decreased.
“We believe the decrease is due to the high number of joint drug raids conducted from June to December with officers from Suva and Kadavu,” he said.
He added that 48 people were arrested during the operational period in June to December 2020 and four people have been arrested in 2021 since operations started in January. Inspector Daveta said their focus was to reduce the illegal cultivation of the illicit drugs on the island and use as many platforms as possible to spread
awareness on its harmful impacts. “From our outreach programmes, particularly in schools, we have seen how children who are in primary school have either seen the drug or witnessed it in the possession of an adult,” he said.
“There is a lot of support from community leaders and we are trying our very best to change the perception of Kadavu as being a red zone for drugs and we know it can be done in partnership with our various stakeholders”.