Tonga Police Force The main function of the royal police is to preserve peace, protect the lives and property of citizens, prevent and detect crimes and other functions prescribed by law. Tonga police are led by the Minister of Police, Fire Protection and Prisons, who is responsible to the Cabinet.
| Royal Police Tonga Tonga Police Force | |
|---|---|
 Police Emblem | |
| Years of existence | since 1868 |
| A country |  Tonga |
| Type of | Police |
| Number | 422 people |
| Part | Ministry of Police, Fire Protection and Prisons |
| Commanders | |
| Current commander | Acting Viliami Latu |
| Famous commanders | Chris Kelly ( English Chris Kelley ) |
Content
Historical background
The first units to maintain public order (the prototype of the modern police) appeared on the island of Tongatapu back in 1868. Since 1942, women have also served in the police force. Like the military, police officers participate in peacekeeping missions. In September 2003, 10 employees (including one woman) were sent to the Solomon Islands.
The number for 2000 is 418 people. After the unrest in Nukualof, the number of police forces was slightly increased.
Current status
The composition of the Police includes: 4 territorial police departments, the Tonga Police Training School, (in addition, special units are trained at the training center of the armed forces), a special traffic control group, a security (investigation) department and firefighters parts. The headquarters is located in Nukualofa .
Since 2008, Chris Kelly, the former representative of the New Zealand Police in Canberra, has been the police commander. This is the first non-Tongan in this post. Since in accordance with the law on police, a commissioner cannot be a person over 60 years old, the government refused to renew the contract (Kelly 61 years old) and at the moment the minister of police is temporarily holding the post of police commissioner. In 2005, 2932 crimes were committed in the country (2517 in 2002). Of these: 652 against the personality of a person, 1952 against property.
Technical equipment
It is armed with light small arms (121 units) and tear gas in case of civil unrest. Police do not carry firearms on regular patrols.
As patrol cars mainly used Toyota. There are also mobile ATV units. Interestingly, there is no standard color for police cars. On Tongatapu, cars are dark blue, and the cars received from Australia have remained in the color of the Australian police. On the island of Wawau, cars are white. In common they have only a lighting system on the roof and the inscription Police, which is also located without any standardization.