After a careful review of the administration costs of resources used for the service rendered by the Police Force for urgent processing, Cabinet has decided to increase the existing Police Clearance and Vetting fees.
There will be huge increases to the existing Police Clearance and Vetting fees effective from 1st January 2010 after a decision by Cabinet this week.
The fees charged for Normal Immigration and Employment local clearance which used to be $22.50 will increase to $60 while the clearance fee for overseas will increase from $33.75 to $100. The urgent processing fees for these services will now be imposed at $150 as there were no urgent processing fees in the past.
Fees and Charges for Bailiffs, Money Lenders, Hotel License, Liquor License, Immigration Work Permit and Rehabilitation Certificate will increase from $22.50 to $150.
The Police clearance fee for LTA and PSV also increases from $22.50 to $100.
Cabinet based its decision on submissions by Minister for Defense and National Security Ratu Epeli Ganilau who said that the existing fees and charges have been carefully reviewed taking into account the administration costs of resources used for the service rendered by the Police Force such as research, telephone, fax, travel, subsistence and postage.
He said this has also been done based on the increase in demand for such services and the public demand for urgent processing.
Meanwhile, The Fiji Police Force has started using the Automated Finger Printing Identification Machine that will ensure quicker response time when dealing with crime scenes and Court cases.
This is after installing the $3 million electronic device which was today launched by Minister for Intelligence Ratu Epeli Ganilau and Commissioner of Police Commodore Esala Teleni.
Director Forensic Services, SP Iliesa Bula said this million dollar machine is a blessing as this will eliminate human error and the backlog of cases when dealing with crime scenes.
SP Bula also adds that the system has two purposes and will not only deal with faster response time at crime scenes but it will also contain all the past records of criminal activities on individuals.
According to Commissioner Teleni, the AFIS will see officers able to identify criminals very fast and also see a decrease in crime as Police will be able to keep tabs on all re-known criminals.
