Salaries of police officers could be a cause of corruption within the Fiji Police Force especially when dealing with drug lords that could pay officers thousands of dollars.
Acting Deputy Commissioner of Police and the director Strategic Planning Research and Development ACP Sakeo Raikaci said the disparity in the pay of police constables and the money they could acquire from feeding information to drug lords was immense.
“If you have to fight corruption it is the involvement of the dollar,” said ACP Raikaci.
“I cannot say that the Fiji Police Force is free from corruption because we have already charged police officers for corruption but maybe one of the causes is because of our salary.
“Because a fortnightly takeaway packet for any police officer or for a police constable ranges from $400 to $700.
“Dealing with drugs on the streets brings about $10,000.
“So, if we are going to bridge those two the possibility of corruption is high because people are buying people to execute their malicious acts.
“For drug lords, dealers they have a lot of money. They have thousands and millions with them.
“So if they want their operations to go freely and if they want to compromise anybody, they will (pay) with thousands.
“So that is a big threat.”
ACP Raikaci said for the 2024-2025 National Budget, the Fiji Police Force has made submissions for an increase in their allocation.
“In our budget submissions we are not asking for a salary increase.
“We are just asking for our operational costs to be increased.
“But for me, honestly, because of our work and our commitment we deserve a pay rise but we are just waiting for the Government.
“Whatever Government gives us a raise that is fine with us but that will not determine the way we conduct our operations.
“Whether we are getting our pay rise or no pay rise we will continue with our operations.”
ACP Rakaci is part of the Fiji Police Force delegation attending the three-day Pacific Regional and National Security Conference for Pacific Islands Forum members in Suva.
