Pacific Islands Chiefs of Police

Our History

The South Pacific Chiefs of Police Conference (SPCPC) was founded in 1970 when police representatives from seven Police services in the Pacific region met. These were Fiji, Gilbert and Ellice Islands (now Kiribati and Tuvalu), Nauru, New Hebrides (now Vanuatu), Solomon Islands and Tonga all met in Suva, Fiji.

In opening the inaugural conference, the Governor of Fiji, Sir Robert Foster, stated that formal liaison among police in the South Pacific region was long overdue. That first conference was chaired by Mr R Henry, Commissioner of Police for Fiji, and closed by Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara, Chief Minister of Fiji. Subjects discussed included training, communications relating the establishment of a code for inter-service contact, criminal investigations and prosecutions policy.

In 1971 and 1972, conferences were held in Tonga and Solomon Islands respectively, with Cook Islands and New Zealand being added to make a membership of nine. Currently there are 21 members, some of whom also belong to Interpol.

In 2005 the SPCPC changed its name to the Pacific Islands Chiefs of Police (PICP), in order to reflect the full membership of the organisation.

Members of PICP are spread right across the Pacific region and extend from the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in the north to New Zealand in the south, French Polynesia in the east, and the Republic of Palau in the west. Within member countries and territories, there are more than 70,000 serving police officers, which makes it the largest law enforcement organisation in the region.

A total of 35 annual conferences have been held since the inaugural meeting in 1970. Details of conference venues and themes over recent years are as follows:

• 2007 Communique Future Directions of Pacific Policing
• 2006 Communique Policing the Pacific Together
• 2005 Communique Policing Response to Natural Disasters
• 2004 Communique Safe and Secure Communities - Contributing to Peace in Our Region
• 2003 Communique Terrorism - The Wider Law Enforcement Context
• 2002 Communique Combating Terrorism, Organised Crime, Sex Crimes
• 2001 Communique Cooperation and Other Current Policing Issues
• 2000 Communique Policing Issues for the first 5 years of the 21st century
• 1999 New Caledonia, "Juvenile Delinquency"

PICP is governed by a Constitution which includes the following Mission Statement:

"To continuously improve standards within the policing profession and, through collaboration between members, to vigorously and effectively represent the policing interests of all Pacific Island Countries both within and beyond the Pacific Region."

Administration is the responsibility of the Chairman and the permanent Secretariat. The Chairman is the Commissioner or Head of Police of the country which hosted the previous annual conference. He or she holds office for one year. New Zealand Police conducts the permanent Secretariat which is responsible for managing day to day business and providing advice and assistance to members on a wide range of matters and activities.