SUVA, July 9 (Xinhua) -- All police vehicles in Fiji have been fitted with the GPS system, and their movements are being monitored on a 24-hour basis, Fiji's police commissioner said on Monday.
While handing over 106 police vehicles to various divisions and units of the Fiji Police Force, Police Commissioner Sitiveni Qiliho said all motorbikes will also be fitted with the GPS system in the coming weeks and this is being done because they have to be transparent about their work as they are accountable for the use of all government resources.
Qiliho also pointed out that it is however unfortunate that these vehicles are becoming more of a liability to the government when people look at the number of police vehicle accidents recorded this year.
The accidents are a disgrace to the institution, particularly when 57 percent of the accidents recorded from Jan. 1 this year to the end of May were caused by the negligent actions of the driver, and in some cases negligence on the part of their immediate supervisor, he said.
He added that he was shocked and disappointed when he received the reports of the GPS Monitoring system and has directed that investigations be conducted against the drivers who were speeding and whether or not they were attending to a genuine emergency.
He confirmed that recent cases of police vehicle accidents have resulted in senior officers being disciplined with the driver.
If there is a case of speeding without a genuine emergency, the senior officer seated in the car at the time will also face disciplinary action, because he or she is equally responsible for the failure to correct a wrong, he said.
The 106 vehicles include 60 twin cabs which will be used by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), uniform operations, traffic operations and special investigations.
Of them, 45 vehicles have been specifically modified, including nine crime scene investigation vehicles equipped with all operational kit and accessories for any scene of crime investigations.
The Fijian police now also have a search and rescue command vehicle that can monitor any operation conducted by the Police Special Response Unit personals either on land or sea.
