Vanuatu's police force is looking at ways it can fund more officers in order maintain security in the face of a rising crime rate.
The Acting Police Commissioner, Major Arthur Caulton, says nearly 140 positions are vacant and the government has not responded to requests for more funding to fill the jobs.
Major Caulton says they will have to see what services they can cut in order to find the money to fill those positions from within the current budget.
"We have submitted various documents to the government with a view to convey the lack of security in the areas of Port Vila and Luganville, that are the main centres of Vanuatu. But the government has been reluctant to allow us to do the recruitment but we are trying our best."
The Acting Police Commissioner, Major Arthur Caulton,
