MINISTER for Women, Children and Poverty Alleviation Mereseini Vuniwaqa believes the fear of crime and violence are major concerns for all Fijians.

Ms Vuniwaqa said crime and violence should be condemned.

“Traditionally, the police and the criminal justice system had been generally reactive in their responses, dealing with crime after it had been committed,” Ms Vuniwaqa said.

“Our laws are modernised and harsher penalties have been given to perpetrators.

“However, more recently, crime levels have increased compared with what they were a few decades ago and our society has become even more complex.”

Ms Vuniwaqa said relevant authorities needed to be more proactive in their various approaches to combating criminal activities.

“High crime localities demand well-targeted measures that focus on the offender, on the victims or potential victims and on resources that could be used to prevent crime.

“Since no one organisation can focus on all three, partnerships involving organisations such as police, government departments, local businesses, non-government organisations, faith-based organisations and local community representatives have been found to be more effective in tackling these challenges.”

She added violence was a social problem that affected communities in different ways.