Law and Justice

• Policing
• The Courts
• Prisons

RAMSI is helping to create a safer and more secure Solomon Islands. RAMSI’s immediate task after arriving in 2003 was to restore law and order. This has been largely achieved and Solomon Islands is now a much safer place to live in, work and visit.

Over 6,300 people have been arrested on more than 9,100 charges since RAMSI arrived, mostly as a result of joint Solomon Islands Police Force/PPF operations and investigations. More than 3,600 guns have been removed from the community and crime involving firearms has decreased considerably in Solomon Islands.

Now, RAMSI is helping to rebuild the Solomon Islands Police Force and to strengthen the criminal justice system. RAMSI wants to rebuild institutions that serve the people, and that the people themselves can be proud of and trust.

Policing

The Participating Police Force (PPF) is composed of about 250-300 police from fourteen countries. The PPF works together in partnership with the Solomon Islands Police Force (SIPF) at every level and in every province. The PPF has established sixteen police posts in all provinces.

RAMSI is now focused on rebuilding the SIPF as a vital national institution. The PPF are increasingly focusing on training, mentoring and advising the SIPF. A comprehensive strategic review of the SIPF was undertaken and is being implemented. This will assist in rebuilding the SIPF into a professional and effective force, capable of serving the community.

Corrupt and ill-disciplined officers have been removed from the SIPF. Over 160 former Solomon Islands Police Force officers have been arrested for serious offences including corruption, murder, assault, rape, intimidation and robbery.

Four batches of new recruits – representing all provinces of the country – have completed training at the Police Academy at Rove since July 2004 and have now commenced policing duties. These are the first new recruits to the SIPF for many years.

The SIPF is being equipped with boats and other assets so that it can work closely with the community to tackle crime at the grassroots. After a successful capacity building exercise with personnel from the Royal Australian Navy, the SIPF patrol boat Auki and its crew has resumed duty patrolling Solomon Islands’ exclusive economic zone.

The PPF will be in the Solomon Islands, working alongside the SIPF and in partnership with the people of Solomon Islands, for a long time yet. They will stay in Solomon Islands until the SIPF becomes once more a police force that the country can be proud of and which everyone respects.

The Courts

All Solomon Islanders brought before the courts have the right to a fair and proper trial, and RAMSI is helping to ensure this is the case. No one in Solomon Islands is above the law and the courts are now in a better position to uphold the laws of the country. RAMSI is providing personnel, infrastructure and administrative support to key justice agencies and the courts (Magistrates Court and High Court), to ensure Solomon Islands’ justice system operates effectively, openly and fairly.

RAMSI has provided experts to work as the Solicitor General and as the Deputy Legal Draftsperson, providing legal advice to the Government and assisting to review and draft Solomon Islands’ legislation and law.

Thanks to RAMSI funding, an expatriate Public Solicitor and fourteen experienced expatriate lawyers are working in the Public Solicitor’s Office alongside their Solomon Islands colleagues, providing free legal advice and representing those people charged with offences (including but not limited to criminal matters).

In 2006, a Solomon Islander assumed the role of Director of Public Prosecutions, following the departure of an expatriate Director who had trained his successor to take over the position. Eight experienced expatriate prosecutors are also working in the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions and four Police Prosecutions advisers are working in the RSIP Prosecutions Branch, to ensure Crown cases are prosecuted fairly and fully, and to provide advice, support and training to their Solomon Islands counterparts.

A RAMSI-funded Deputy Chief Magistrate and a Principal Magistrate are supporting the Chief Magistrate in the fair and timely delivery of services at the Magistrates Court. RAMSI is also funding the provision of two additional High Court judges. Advisers are also supporting improved administration and case management at the Magistrates Court and High Court. RAMSI is providing financial and logistical support to facilitate the attendance of witnesses to trials. These additional positions in the justice sector have increased the ability of the court system to work through cases.

RAMSI has refurbished the main court chamber and constructed three new courtrooms at the High Court, and refurbishment work has been undertaken at the Central Magistrates Court in Honiara. More comprehensive upgrades are planned, including refurbishments of provincial court facilities.

High Court trials relating to the tensions period are being heard in the courts, and RAMSI’s assistance is helping to clear the backlog of these cases.

Prisons

Any person in Solomon Islands, if found guilty of a crime and sentenced to spend time in prison, has the right to be treated appropriately. Now, with RAMSI support, this is possible.

Maintaining prison security and building local capacity are the highest priorities for RAMSI assistance to Solomon Islands Prison Service (SIPS). RAMSI is supporting the SIPS with prison personnel, specialist advisers, training and improvements to infrastructure and equipment.

To assist with the professional development of SIPS officers, RAMSI has recruited international staff to fill several senior management roles, including the Commissioner of Prisons and General Manager of Central (Rove) Prison. Forty advisers and support staff are also working with local SIPS officers at Central Prison.

A program of SIPS officer recruitment, training and professional development is also a strong focus of RAMSI’s assistance to the prison service. A range of general and specialist training programs have been developed for local SIPS officers, and seventy new SIPS recruits successfully completed Prison Officer courses during 2005.

Extensive works to improve the security and conditions at Central Prison are now close to completion. The prison provides appropriate accommodation and conditions for prisoners, in accordance with international standards. A juvenile unit will also be established at the prison to provide appropriate accommodation for youth offenders. Several additional infrastructure projects have taken place, designed to enhance the operations and effectiveness of SIPS operations.

The Tetere Prison has also been re-opened to provide for minimal security offenders. Work will also be undertaken to improve existing prison facilities in Auki (Malaita Province) and Gizo (Western Province).

RAMSI is supporting SIPS to improve policies and procedures relating to prison operations and to prisoner rehabilitation programs. Correctional Management Standards are being developed for prisons in the Solomon Islands. These Standards establish the minimum standards required for correctional services in SIPS, providing the basis for ensuring accountability and a consistent level of service delivery across the system.