EIGHTY per cent of police officers in Fiji are unaware of how to handle and identify human trafficking cases, says human trafficking unit senior investigator Inspector Mukhtar Ahmed.
Speaking at the Human Trafficking and Child Exploitation workshop at Naviti Resort in Sigatoka yesterday, Insp Ahmed said there was a great need to train Fijian police officers in this aspect.
“I think there should be more similar classes like this to happen and that could be made possible if other stakeholders come in and assist,” he said.
Insp Ahmed said although officers were being trained, it was not enough for them to grasp the aspects of identifying trafficking issues.
“We are having training for these officers in our police academy at every level. However, this one-day lesson is not enough to teach them how to handle cases of human trafficking.
“The importance of getting officers trained in handling human trafficking cases is important because most of the officers, they are only focusing on the Crimes Act rather than looking at trafficking in persons offences.”
