30 Jul 2012

Renewed trust in Solomons police says new commissioner

3:15 pm on 30 July 2012

Solomon Islands' new police commissioner says trust in the country's police force has built up again following the ethnic tensions of a decade ago.

The deployment of an Australia-led regional intervention force in 2003 to restore law and order followed several years of violence, beginning with the tensions in 1998.

John Lansley says he is noticed a lot of positive changes in the country since his last Solomon Islands appointment in 2004 as assistant commissioner.

He says the police definitely need to be rearmed, something that is accompanied by trust in the force but he thinks there is now a tremendous amount of that within the general public.

"It did take a backwards step in 2000 and up to 2003. But the transformation, the ability now of the police and the community to work together is something that I would really emphasise to you that has been one of the most important aspects of the change that I've seen."

John Lansley says the Royal Solomon Islands Police force is working very hard to engender public confidence.