PICP Womens Advisory Network Communique

                     Pacific Island Chiefs of Police

                      Womens Advisory Network

 

                   COMMUNIQUE

 

Monday 8 June 2009

 

The 6th Pacific Islands Chiefs of Police (PICP) Womens Advisory Network (WAN) Conference has concluded in the Cook Islands.

 

The two day conference brought together more than 45 police women from 18 Pacific countries and was hosted by the Cook Islands WAN group made up of local police women.

 

In his opening address, Commissioner Pat Tasker from the Cook Islands acknowledged the challenges Pacific Island police women faced, including work/life balance and rising through the ranks.  He added that Pacific female officers had many strengths which could enchance a well disciplined police force.

 

The outgoing chair of WAN, Sergeant Rebecca Hosking Ellis from the Cook Islands police, handed over the role to new chair, Constable Siripa Uelese from the Samoa police.  Sergeant Hosking Ellis will remain as the new Deputy Chair.

 

WAN is a support network for Pacific police women which has initiated several ground breaking projects including an exchange programme, sister city project and help with policies such as maternity leave.

 

The exchange programme, which was established at the 2006 WAN conference in the Solomon Islands, will see six exchanges this year between Vanuatu, CNMI, Guam, PNG, Cook Islands, Tuvalu and Kiribati (one reserve)  Each exchange lasts three weeks and enables participants to experience policing in other parts of the Pacific.

 

For the first time in 2 years, two representatives from the Royal Fiji Police attended the WAN conference as observers.  Fiji was instrumental in establishing WAN in 2003 in Fiji.

 

The longest serving police woman at the conference had 34 years experience and many others had served in the force for longer than 20 years.

 

The theme of this year’s conference was youth crime in the Pacific.  Chair Siripa Uelese said as police women, mothers and nurturers, they had a critical role in dealing with youth crime successfully. 

 

WAN delegates will make recommendations in their country reports which will go to the annual Chiefs of Police conference in Papua New Guinea in September.  The theme of that conference will be youth crime.

 

The next WAN meeting will be in Samoa next year.