The Fiji Police Force Bill which proposes arrest without warrant, use of force by Police officers in exercising powers, provides that any person may make a complaint against a member of Police staff to the Commissioner and others has been tabled by the Minister for Policing, Ioane Naivalurua in Parliament for the final debate this afternoon.
Naivalurua says the Bill strengthens the operational capabilities of the Force, while introducing clearer safeguards, stronger accountability mechanisms and a statutory framework for community policing.
He says the Police Bill is more than a legislative update, it is a fundamental modernisation of Fiji's policing framework to meet the security challenges of the 21st century.
The Bill proposes the use of force by Police officers in exercising powers under the Bill or any other Act.
It permits the use of reasonable and necessary force, subject to proportionality requirements and restrictions against force likely to cause death or grievous bodily harm except where necessary to prevent death or serious injury.
The Bill provides for arrest without warrant.
It empowers Police officers to arrest persons committing or about to commit offences, or reasonably suspected of doing so.
The clause further provides that arrest is only permissible where the officer reasonably believes it is necessary for specified purposes, including establishing identity, preventing harm or obstruction, protecting vulnerable persons, ensuring effective investigation, or preventing disappearance.
The Bill empowers a Police officer to enter and search a place or conveyance without a warrant where the officer reasonably suspects evidence may be concealed or destroyed, or where an urgent search offence involves conveyance safety.
The clause provides that the search may be conducted as if authorised by warrant and restricts the use of force in relation to structural damage or forced entry into conveyances.
The Bill empowers the Commissioner to require a candidate to provide a body sample and to allow biometric information to be taken for the purposes of establishing a DNA profile.
Clause 23 restricts the use of biometric information relating to a candidate.
The clause provides that such information may be used only for verifying that the candidate is not an illicit drug user, determining whether the candidate has been convicted of an offence, investigating and prosecuting offences where the candidate is linked through matching, or eliminating the candidate from suspicion if later recruited.
It proposes that any person may make a complaint against a member of Police staff to the Commissioner in the prescribed form and manner.
The clause further requires the Commissioner to establish a complaints receiving and response platform that enables anonymous and user-friendly lodgement of complaints.
The Bill empowers a Police officer to take identifying particulars of a person in lawful Police custody who is detained for committing an offence.
The clause provides that identifying particulars must be taken in a reasonable manner and permits the use of force, subject to clause 42.
The clause also creates an offence for failure to comply with a lawful direction after caution with the penalty of a fine not exceeding $5,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or both.
The Bill empowers a Police officer to detain a person briefly for the purpose of taking identifying particulars where the officer reasonably suspects the person of committing an offence and intends to proceed by summons.
The clause limits detention to the period necessary to obtain the particulars allows reasonable force to be used to secure them and creates an offence for failure to comply after caution.
The Minister says the Bill provides the legislative foundation for these essential standards.
Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka says the proposed Police Bill must ensure that police powers relating to arrests, searches, surveillance, digital investigations and forensic procedures are exercised with clear legal limits and appropriate judicial oversight.
While speaking during the debate on the Bill in Parliament, Rabuka says these powers must be guided by the principles of necessity and proportionality to ensure the rights and freedoms of every Fijian are protected.
He says the country needs a modern legislative framework that allows police officers to tackle increasingly complex crimes, including organised crime, drug trafficking, cybercrime, transnational criminal networks and technology-enabled offences.
Rabuka says the police cannot be expected to confront modern criminal networks using a legislative framework established more than 60 years ago.
The Prime Minister stresses that the strength of our policing system is measured not only by the powers available to the police officers, but by the integrity with which those powers are exercised.
Rabuka says public confidence is the foundation of effective policing, and people must have confidence that complaints will be heard, misconduct investigated and officers held accountable when they act outside the law.
He says the establishment of the Fiji Police Force Disciplinary Tribunal and a formal appeals process are important steps towards strengthening fairness and accountability within the force.
The Prime Minister says the success of the legislation will depend on its implementation, including adequate resources, skilled personnel, modern technology, training and clear procedures.
Rabuka says they support strong policing, but not policing without accountability, adding they support modern investigative powers, but not powers without safeguards.
Opposition MP Faiyaz Koya has raised concerns over the delegation of the Commissioner's powers to police officers, the storage and destruction of forensic evidence, the keeping of people's fingerprints and photographs, and police access to digital devices under the proposed Fiji Police Bill.
Koya says Section 11, which allows the Commissioner of Police to delegate any of the commissioner's powers, duties or functions to the Deputy Commissioner or a police officer, is concerning as the provision does not specify the rank or level of the police officer who can receive these powers.
He says the objection is specifically about allowing these powers to be delegated to a police officer, adding that the provision becomes dangerous when dealing with legal powers that have been abused in the past.
Koya also raises concerns about Section 46, which deals with the storage and database of identifying information, including photographs, fingerprints, palm prints and footprints.
He questions why police should continue keeping a person's photograph or other identifying information if that person is discharged without conviction.
He says this needs to be looked at again, as such information should be removed if a person is acquitted or if the case is no longer being prosecuted.
On search warrants, Koya says the removal of the provision allowing Justices of the Peace to issue search warrants is a positive step, adding that only judges and magistrates should be allowed to issue them.
He says search warrants are not small issues, as they give police officers a lot of power.
The Opposition MP also raises concerns over the independence of the forensic department, saying convictions are now very largely dependent on forensic evidence rather than the old methods of gathering evidence.
He says it is important to ensure that the department handling forensic evidence is completely independent of the Police Force.
He says even a minuscule amount of evidence showing that forensic evidence has been compromised could mean the difference between innocence or guilt.
Koya welcomes the proposed amendment requiring the Minister to take steps within three years to establish an independent forensic science entity to carry out forensic functions.
He says the forensic department must eventually move out of the Police Force to ensure its independence and avoid any possible interference.
The Opposition MP also raises concerns about how forensic evidence is stored and destroyed, questioning when it should be destroyed, how it should be destroyed and what gives authorities the right to continue keeping it.
He says these matters need to be strengthened, with clear safeguards in place.
He further raises concerns about police powers involving covert operations, search and seizure, and access to digital devices.
He says when police seize a phone or computer, there must be clear limits on how much information they can access.
Koya says digital devices contain personal, private and financial information, and there must be safeguards to prevent police from accessing information they should not be looking at.
He says transparency, accountability and proper checks and balances are important, and there must be enough safeguards to protect citizens' rights.
Koya also says judges, magistrates and police officers will need a whole new education process to ensure they understand how to exercise the powers under the Bill without breaching people's constitutional rights, especially their right to privacy.
He says the proposed Bill contains important changes that Fiji needs, but there are still reservations that must be addressed to ensure people's rights are protected.
Minister for Immigration Viliame Naupoto says the Police Bill 2026 represents a significant step towards developing a modern, professional and accountable Fiji Police Force that is equipped to respond to increasingly sophisticated criminal activities.
Naupoto says the Bill seeks to strengthen governance, improve accountability, modernise operational capabilities and build stronger relationships between the Police Force and the communities it serves.
Naupoto says when police officers and communities work together, trust and cooperation are strengthened, allowing emerging issues to be addressed before they develop into more serious problems.
He says supporting the Bill also reaffirms the nation's commitment to the men and women of the Fiji Police Force and the families who stand behind them.
