Constable Ligaqaqa promoted after Pacific Policing award recognition

Police Constable Susana Ligaqaqa, best known for her quiet determination and community work at the Nayavu Police Post in Tailevu, has been promoted to the rank of Corporal by Commissioner of Police Rusiate Tudravu.

The promotion on Friday, September 26, recognises her recent win of the Australasian Council of Women and Policing (ACWAP) Excellence in Law Enforcement in the Pacific Region Award, presented during an awards night in Melbourne, Australia, on 18 September.

The 39-year-old mother’s journey from a rural outpost to international recognition is a story of perseverance, faith, and service.

PC Ligaqaqa, who was enlisted as a Special Constable in 2005 and fully absorbed into the Force in 2020, has served at Totogo and Korovou before her current posting to Nayavu. She hails from Nasaqa, Wailevu, Macuata, with maternal links to Dakuinuku, Sawakasa, Tailevu.

At Nayavu, she has built Crime Prevention Committees, collaborated with government agencies, and put the principles of Duavata Community Policing into practice, helping transform her community through grassroots efforts.

A total of five Fiji Police Force members were finalists across two award categories: the Excellence in Law Enforcement in the Pacific Region Award and the Emerging Leader Awards. Other finalists included Inspector Makitala Masira, Sergeant Latileta Ryland, Corporal Paulini Valaibulu, and civilian Ana Naisoro.

Commissioner Tudravu, who received a back-brief of the regional conference and the AIPM Leadership Conference attended by Inspectors Vasemaca Naborisi and Loraini Kaitabu, congratulated all women representatives.

He encouraged them to continue empowering other officers by sharing knowledge and experience.

Also present was Fiji Police Women’s Advisory Network National Coordinator, Superintendent of Police Ruci Nasemira.

The ACWAP Excellence in Law Enforcement Award recognises men and women making law enforcement better for women across the Pacific, highlighting the crucial yet often unseen work carried out at the community level.

For those who know her in Nayavu, the Melbourne award was simply a formal recognition of what her community has long known — that PC Ligaqaqa carries her work, and her people, with dignity and pride.