Fiji Police Force aims to have 1,000 qualified motor bike riders by 2020

The Fiji Police Force is aiming to have 1,000 qualified motor bike riders by 2020 for safer roads and enhancing community service delivery.

This was highlighted to Legend FM News by the Director Traffic Mahesh Mishra at the Police Bike Handover Ceremony today at the ANZ Stadium.

Mishra says they currently have more than 200 qualified riders.

While speaking at the handing over, Police Commissioner Sitiveni Qiliho says they had set out a target of acquiring 130 motorbikes to meet the demands placed on their services so they could maneuver through the heavy traffic and improve their response time.

He says with the purchase of the 130 motorbikes by the government, that target has been achieved today.

Qiliho reiterated to the riders that today's show of their capabilities should be more than just a show as it was indeed a proud moment to witness police officers on their motorbikes and with the route travelled today it would have no doubt turned heads, generated a few social media posts and started some interesting conversation both positive and negative.

Qiliho thanked government for meeting their mobility needs, as the police to public ratio meant the ability to attend to reports more efficiently could be addressed on one hand by having more modes of transportation available at their disposal.

Qiliho says over the past few weeks they have recorded quite a number of serious road accidents and the recent deaths of three people who were unfortunate victims of a motor vehicle accident allegedly at the hands of a driver who was heavily intoxicated warrants an urgent review of how they are deploying their motorcyclists.

He says officers need to get out there and be seen so they can send a strong message that they will come down hard on those breaking road rules.

Qiliho says to date 15 people have lost their lives on our roads, and every time there is a report of a fatal accident, he feels a sense of remorse and wonders if more could have been done by the Police Force to save a life.