A TOTAL of 61 online-safety cases have been referred to the authorities for investigation, prompting the Online Safety Commission and police to strengthen the way serious complaints are tracked and progressed.
Online Safety Commissioner Filipe Batiwale said victims needed greater certainty about their cases after they were referred for criminal investigation.
A recent reconciliation exercise between the two agencies identified 61 cases referred by the commission to the police.
Mr Batiwale said the two departments were working to improve the acknowledgement, tracking and progression of referrals and the sharing of case-status information.
“When someone comes to us, tells us what has happened, provides the material and goes through the complaint process, they understandably want to know what happens next,” he said.
“If we refer that matter for criminal investigation, OSC and police both need a clear system that allows the case to be tracked and, where appropriate, allows the complainant to be told where things stand.”
He said the issue was not about blaming either institution, but ensuring their respective roles worked effectively together.
“Police have a very large mandate. They deal with every type of crime in Fiji. OSC has a specialist mandate.
“We need to make sure those two roles work together properly instead of creating unnecessary duplication.”
Mr Batiwale said serious online complaints could involve children, intimate images, threats, exploitation, fake accounts and digital evidence that could disappear quickly.
