POLICE Commissioner Brigadier General Ioane Naivalurua yesterday challenged police officers in the north to do better in the next quarter of this year.
Speaking to the officers at a police parade held at the Labasa Police Station, Brig-Gen Naivalurua encouraged his men to perform better.
"Let's not be discouraged or be dismayed. I am optimistic we will achieve our next quarter so do your best, work together, work hard and be honest police officers," Brig-Gen Naivalurua said.
"All that has happened is good so don't be dismayed. Let's see what changes we need to improve on so we can better our services to the people," he said.
However, he reminded the importance of improving the police services to the public following a revelation last week that the force failed in the first quarter. "I am sure you have heard by now that we did not do well. Complaints against police and complaints against our services have increased," Brig-Gen Naivalurua said.
"We did not do well and complaints against us for our behaviour and things not associated with the uniform we wear. We are here to serve the public well.
"We were dishonest about some investigations, we fail to investigate, we lied over some investigations and the list goes on," he added. He said such complaints were of major concern for him as it measured the professionalism of the force.
"We have failed to adhere to other codes of ethics and having said that, let us not be discouraged, we have made ourselves more available and approachable through our phone numbers published in the papers," he said.
"I receive calls every day about complaints, hardly to say thank you. But that's OK."