𝐆𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐊𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐥𝐞𝐝𝐠𝐞 𝐬𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐝

Twenty personnel who were in line for or already holding Duty Officer posts were urged this morning by the Deputy Commissioner of Corrections, Mr Auta Moceisuva that they must invest in learning more than their position demands.

This was part of his morning address as he opened the inaugural five-week Duty Officers Training Course at the FCS Training Academy in Naboro this morning.

A Duty Officer, holds the most crucial position in any Corrections Center, as the operations of the day rests on his or her shoulders.

“As Duty Officers, you must learn to accommodate the various challenges you face on a daily basis when running a Corrections Center. You must learn to also work within procedures, the Laws and our Corrections Act.

“We are identifying some loop holes at this level which is why we are conducting this training.

“Now historically, our Corrections Act was reviewed in 2003, it was again reviewed in 2006 and then another one in 2011 and that’s where we are now, but we won’t say that it is sufficient to the way we operate now but we are looking at it at the moment, but we must work within that to accommodate the challenges we face now.”

Mr Moceisuva dwelled on the influx of HIV Positive inmates into the FCS facilities and Ice-addicts (drug addicts) and how as DO’s (Duty Officers), a lot of planning and communications must be done with the medical unit, the Officer in Charge and his men and women on the ground as far as their welfare is concerned.

“But most importantly we engage our stakeholders like the Ministry of Health to help with medical advice and assistance and Ministry of Justice to help with the Laws that govern our operations and also NGOs to help us as we are not resourced to counter this but we can manage it through effective practices and so a lot of this work falls on the Duty Officer.”

“So you have this good 5-weeks to learn all about what a Duty Officer needs to know to be able to lead better in their roles. To understand your role as a DO, to Lead and make decisions, understanding the layout of your centers and distribution of inmates for Labour and how people should be treated according to the standard of your institutions, the responsibility is huge.

Mr Moceisuva said the course curriculum to be delivered has been tailored to the work of Duty Officers.