Tuvalu

Tuvalu

Tuvalu , formerly known as the Ellice Islands, is a Polynesian island nation located in the Pacific Ocean, midway between Hawaii and Australia. Its nearest neighbours are Kiribati, Nauru, Samoa and Fiji. It comprises four reef islands and five true atolls...

 has no army, but its national police

Police

The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...

 force, the Tuvalu Police Force headquartered in Funafuti

Funafuti

Funafuti is an atoll that forms the capital of the island nation of Tuvalu. It has a population of 4,492 , making it the most populated atoll in the country. It is a narrow sweep of land between 20 and 400 metres wide, encircling a large lagoon 18 km long and 14 km wide, with a surface of...

 includes a Maritime Surveillance

Surveillance

Surveillance is the monitoring of the behavior, activities, or other changing information, usually of people. It is sometimes done in a surreptitious manner...

 Unit, Customs

Customs

Customs is an authority or agency in a country responsible for collecting and safeguarding customs duties and for controlling the flow of goods including animals, transports, personal effects and hazardous items in and out of a country...

, Prison

Prison

A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...

s and Immigration

Immigration

Immigration is the act of foreigners passing or coming into a country for the purpose of permanent residence...

. Police officer

Police officer

A police officer is a warranted employee of a police force...

s wear British style uniform

Uniform

A uniform is a set of standard clothing worn by members of an organization while participating in that organization's activity. Modern uniforms are worn by armed forces and paramilitary organizations such as police, emergency services, security guards, in some workplaces and schools and by inmates...

s.

The police have a Pacific class patrol boat

Pacific class patrol boat

The Pacific class is a class of 22 patrol boats built by Australia and donated to twelve South Pacific countries. Constructed from 1985 to 1997 and operated by militaries, coast guards or police forces of the twelve island nations, these boats are supported by the Pacific Patrol Boat Program...

 (Te Mataili) provided by Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

 under the Pacific Patrol Boat Program for use in maritime surveillance and fishery

Fishery

Generally, a fishery is an entity engaged in raising or harvesting fish which is determined by some authority to be a fishery. According to the FAO, a fishery is typically defined in terms of the "people involved, species or type of fish, area of water or seabed, method of fishing, class of boats,...

 patrol.

According to the Constitution of Tuvalu

Politics of Tuvalu

The politics of Tuvalu takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic monarchy, whereby the Monarch is the head of state, represented by the Governor-General, while the Prime Minister is the head of government. Executive power is exercised by the government...

,

Tuvalu has provided police officers to the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands since December 2004.

Tuvaluan Police officer Fanini Maleko is contingent commander of the Tuvaluan police serving as part of RAMSI's Participating Police Force (PPF).

External links

• http://www.tuvaluislands.com/const_tuvalu.htm
• http://www.ramsi.org/node/29
• http://www.tuvalu-news.tv/archives/2006/12/tuvalu_police_toughening_up_on.html
• http://www.tuvaluislands.com/gov_addresses.htm
• http://www.isiservicescorp.com/mjcpatch.html