With around 328,000 people dying as a result of road crashes in the wider Western Pacific every year, the leaders of road policing in the region have gathered to discuss the way forward.
The leaders of Road Policing in 18 Pacific Island nations gathered in Fiji this month to learn about the most effective ways to deter behaviours that cause or worsen road trauma and discuss and formulated strategies to address harm on the roads.
The inaugural forum for Pacific Road Policing Leaders was organised by the Pacific Islands Chiefs of Police (PICP) Executive Leadership team.
The PICP secretariat - which is hosted at Police National Headquarters in Wellington - facilitated sessions to help participants develop plans and approaches they can share with their respective Commissioners and use in their own jurisdictions.
Among presenters was former Assistant Commissioner Road Policing Dave Cliff, now Chief Executive of the Global Road Safety Partnership.
“Thousands of lives each year are sadly lost on our Pacific roads,” he said. “The impact on families and the social cost is significant across the Pacific. Alcohol is a significant contributing factor and at a global level is involved in 30 to 35 percent of fatal collisions.”
This workshop was an opportunity for Inspector Marianne Whitfield and Senior Sergeant Simone Mills to support countries aligned with the ISG New Zealand Police Pacific Island Prevention Programme.
The inaugural Road Safe Pacific leadership workshop was essential for police road safety leads to discuss shared challenges, systems and approaches in an effort to effect changes in risky driving and riding behaviour.
Inspector Glyn Rowland, of the PICP Secretariat, says the forum presented a valuable opportunity for Road Policing leads to come together – and marked the beginnings of a regional network for road safety, supported by the PICP.
“The forum was aimed at enhancing Pacific Island nation law enforcement, to put together strategic goals to collectively fight to reduce - and work towards eliminating - road crash death and injury,” he says.
The forum in Nadi ran for three days. It was formally opened by Fiji’s Acting Commissioner of Police, Rusiate Tudravu.