Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Professor Biman Prasad, has reiterated Government’s commitment to enhancing public safety and implementing a targeted approach when addressing drug-related crimes.
While addressing the issue of recent crime spikes, Prof Prasad acknowledged that some drug-related crimes have been a persistent challenge, but assured that Government has taken decisive action on them.
“We have provided an adequate budget for the police. We will be looking at some of those issues again in the next budget,” Prof Prasad said.
In the past two years, he said, Government has provided additional funding for police vehicles, more police personnel, and patrolling operations.
“The Government is very confident that with the new police reset program, with the new Commissioner of Police, there will be better and more vigilance about the different kinds of crimes that are being committed.”
The minister said Government would not tolerate any form of criminal activity.
“Whether it’s bullying, whether it’s a hate crime, whether it’s drunken driving, whether it’s any kind of hooliganism, will not be tolerated by the government, which, of course, includes the police force as well.
“So, we want to send a very clear message to our people that the government is committed to ensuring the safety and security of our people.”
Prof Prasad said a parliamentary committee will soon be established to investigate the matter further, as announced by Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka.
“You can’t attribute one crime to just socio-economic issues. As I said, a lot of the crimes that we see are drug related.
“This is something that we had talked about for years when we were in Opposition.
“We wanted a national enquiry; this is a government that has now taken those issues head-on.”
Prof Prasad highlighted the crucial role of community support in combating crime while also admitting instances where police resources may have been limited in certain areas.
“As you can see, a lot of these crimes, petty crimes in particular, robbery, stealing, etc. During the festive season, people get drunk and misbehave.
These are issues that have always been there, except that the scale or the frequency of occurrence might be different, but having said all that, the police, in my view, in this festive season, have done an excellent job.
“I want to thank all the police officers who have gone out of their way, sacrificed their holidays to do what they always ought to do during the festive season.”
