Young Fijians warn drug law will fail without trust

Young Fijians have called for transparency, independent oversight and rehabilitation programs to be written into the Counter Narcotics Bill.

Youth leaders told yesterday's consultation at Suva Civic Centre that public trust in law enforcement had collapsed and strong accountability measures were needed.

Former youth parliamentarian Nishal Narayan said legislation without infrastructure would fail.

"A law is only as strong as the system behind it. To counter drugs, we need not just brain, but also reliable officers," Mr Narayan said.

He said coordination between police, customs, health, education and social services was critical.

"Without capacity, law becomes symbolic and not effective," he said.

Mr Narayan warned that enforcement powers without oversight enabled abuse and corruption.

"Our public has minimum to no trust on our current cases for the police. As a youth leader, I have been receiving cases. Someone reported in Totogo station in November, December. But no action has been taken," he said.

Youth parliamentarian Patricia Subbaiya said complainants were denied information about their cases.

"There's been many complaints that have been lodged. And when we return to know about the process, we are told that now it's a legal matter," Ms Subbaiya said.

She called for the bureau to publish annual reports and statistics, and establish an accessible civilian complaint process.

On rehabilitation, Ms Subbaiya said offenders deserved a second chance.

"Rehabilitation is going to help them go and tell others that there is a second chance and that we can come out of it," she said.

Youth parliamentarian Krishal Prasad urged Government to introduce drug prevention programs in schools and communities, similar to past anti-drug awareness campaigns.

The consultation continues tomorrow in Nausori.

Minister for Policing Ioane Naivalurua said the bill would be presented to Cabinet by March.

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