The new Cook Islands police commissioner says the appointment of a local person is proof of the achievements of his expatriate predecessor.
Maara Tetava, who has been the deputy commissioner for the past eight years, formally assumes the position of commissioner on June the 18th.
Patrick Tasker, a New Zealand expatriate, was appointed to improve the effectiveness of the police force.
Mr Tetava says while the police performance greatly improved during Mr Tasker's tenure, challenges, such as reducing the number of fatal crashes, remain.
"We've got a target of not more than two fatal crashes a year and cutting down the number of crashes to no more than ten serious crashes per year. We're also looking at redeveloping or reinventing or recreating our stratgeic plan. Our current one ends next year but I think a lot has happened over the past year for us to revisit that. We've got plans in place to start working on that in the month of July."
Maara Tetava says a key focus during his term will be to ensure that the police force is adequately funded.
