The AFP has helped deliver the first dual-language Cyber Safety Pasifika training to police officers from across the Pacific.
Cyber Safety Pasifika (CSP) is a Pacific Islands Chiefs of Police (PICP) program which aims to collaboratively enhance the capability of police officers to investigate and combat cybercrime and protect their communities. This aligns with the PICP vision of Our Blue Pacific, Safer Together and the mission of Uniting Pacific Leadership to Build Highly Capable Policing.
The AFP is a co-sponsor of the CSP program, which was delivered in New Caledonia in March, 2024, marking the first time it was held in a French territory. Police officers from Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, New Caledonia, National Gendarmerie, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu participated in the training.
The training was led by officers from the Police Nationalé de la Nouvelle-Calédonie, Police Nationalé de la Polynésie Francaise, the National Gendarmerie, Tonga Police and the Nauru Police Force, alongside presenters from the AFP's Cybercrime Command, New Zealand Police, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Australian Cyber Security Centre, the Asia Pacific Network Information Centre and Meta.
AFP Pacific Police Development Program - Regional Detective Superintendent Kathryn Polkinghorne said the delivery of the CSP training programs in Nouméa was achieved through effective collaboration between the AFP, FBI, Police Nationalé de la Nouvelle-Calédonie, and the Australian and French governments.
"The program delivered in New Caledonia is the latest in our longstanding commitment to help equip our Pacific police partners with the skills to combat cybercrime and pass on this knowledge to their communities," Det-Supt Polkinghorne said.
"We thank our international partners for their valuable co-sponsorship of the program, as well as providing cyber investigation and intelligence experts to assist with delivering the training.
"The delivery of the CSP training in Noumea demonstrates the value of regionalism in addressing priority security threats and challenges, including cybercrime, and the commitment of strategic partners to delivering positive outcomes for Pacific policing through a 'by the Pacific, for the Pacific' approach to capability development."
CSP supports Pacific police organisations to develop capability through a range of initiatives, including the delivery of the Cyber Investigation Foundation (CIF) and the Cyber Awareness and Education (CAE) training programs.
The CAE program was recently redesigned by Pacific police officers as part of CSP's "by the Pacific, for the Pacific" philosophy.
The new training supports police participants to develop their cyber safety presentation skills so they can effectively engage with their community to build cyber resilience and prevent cybercrime.
As part of the CAE program, participants practiced their skills by delivering cyber safety presentations to students from a local school in Noumea.
