The Vanuatu Police Force (; VPF) is the national law enforcement of
Vanuatu
Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (; ), is an island country in Melanesia located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of northern Australia, northeast of New Caledonia, east o ...
. The VPF is headquartered in
Port Vila
Port Vila ( ; ), or simply Vila (), is the capital of Vanuatu and its largest city. It is on the island of Efate, in Shefa Province.
The population was 49,034 as of the 2020 census. In 2020, the population of Port Vila formed 16.3% of the ...
and has two specialised arms: a small para-military force, the
Vanuatu Mobile Force
The Vanuatu Mobile Force (VMF) is a small, mobile corps of 300 volunteers that makes up Vanuatu's military. Its primary task is to assist the Vanuatu Police Force. However, should Vanuatu be attacked, then the VMF will act as the first line of d ...
, and a maritime force, the
Vanuatu Police Maritime Wing.
Organisation
Maritime Wing
The Vanuatu Police Maritime Wing currently operates a single
Guardian-class patrol boat
The Guardian-class patrol boats are a class of small patrol vessels designed and built in Australia and provided to small South Pacific Ocean countries as part of the Australian Government's Pacific Maritime Security Program.
The class is de ...
,
RVS ''Takuare'', as well as a variety of small craft including the Australian supplied
RVS Mataweli RVS may refer to:
* '' R.V.S.'', Arkady Gaidar novel
* Repetitive visual stimulus
* Revolutionary Military Council, the Red Army's central command organization
* Revolutionary Military Soviet (Makhnovshchina), (Russian:''Революционный ...
. The Maritime wing primarily operates from RVS Mala outside of Port Vila, an Australian funded base which has a large wharf able to host both Australian and Ni-Vanuatu vessels. Until 2021 the wing operated a single ,
RVS Tukoro.
History
Vanuatu has provided police officers to the
Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands
The Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI), also known as Operation Helpem Fren, Operation Anode and Operation Rata (by New Zealand), began in 2003 in response to a request for international aid by the Governor-General of Solom ...
since July 2003.
[ Ni-Vanuatu police officer Benson Samuels is contingent commander of the ni-Vanuatu police serving as part of RAMSI's Participating Police Force (PPF). In a 2006 interview Police Commissioner Lieutenant Colonel Lui Patu Navoko voiced support for the idea that Vanuatu would benefit from having a National Security Council.]
Police Commissioners of Vanuatu
* Lieutenant Colonel Arthur Coulton (2002
Ranks
See also
* Law of Vanuatu
Law in the Republic of Vanuatu consists of a mixed system combining the legacy of English common law, French civil law and indigenous customary law. The Parliament of Vanuatu is the primary law-making body today, but pre-independence French and B ...
References
External links
Martin Cassidy's South Pacific Police Insignia Website
{{Oceania topic, Law enforcement in
Government of Vanuatu
Law of Vanuatu