Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
A Pacific academic claims corruption is rife within the Fiji Police Force because officers "are not very well paid and temptations to take a bribe is quite strong".
Fiji is grappling with a drug crisis and authorities are concerned about corrupt police officers.
"The public don't have much trust or confidence in the police." - Professor Vijay Naidu
Last week, the acting police commissioner Juki Fong Chew said in a statement that police "has consistently addressed" claims of corruption and "officers taken to task" in court.
According to a report by fijivillage.com, 28 police officers were charged between 2021 and 2023 with drug related offences involving unlawful possession of illicit drugs.
The University of the South Pacific's governance studies Professor Vijay Naidu's told RNZ Pacific that too many young Fijian police officers were compromising their morals because they are underpaid and enticed by drug money.
"Some of the younger policemen are curious about these drugs, and I think they try and make use of it themselves, and then some of them have contacts in amongst the people who did drugs," he said.
"We have a number of instances recently of a policeman being charged for stealing drugs. Now you got 28 of them incriminated, charged," Professor Naidu said.
.. Photo: Facebook/Fiji Police
Police is committed to tackling corruption and gaining public trust, Chew said in the statement on 29 August.
Police officers were answerable to the law and the zero tolerance stand on corrupt practices in all aspects of policing has not changed, he said.
"Aside from the officers who have been taken to open court, we also have our internal disciplinary processes to deal with complaints against service."
"Fiji Police Force is not corrupt," Chew was quoted as saying by The Fiji Times, adding "there is a perception that the involvement of police officers is rife where we are turning a blind eye to it, but this is simply not true."
However, Professor Naidu said the impact of more arrests has meant public trust will be deteriorating further.
"Confidence in the police force is relatively low, and of course, these kinds of events actually lead to further mistrust and distrust of the police."
He said part of the problem, unlike Australia and New Zealand, was "we don't have an independent commission agency to investigate the police misdemeanours in Fiji".
"So, these internal investigations about police's deviant behaviour and crimes, including police brutality, is not regarded as being impartial."
RNZ Pacific has contacted the Fiji Police and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions for comment.