Officers of the Ombudsman undertook a short training on how Intelligence could be used to help boost their investigations. The training was coordinated by the Director of the National Intelligence Unit, Superintendent Frazer Tambe.

Superintendent Tambe explains that Criminal Intelligence analysis permits Law Enforcement authorities to establish a proactive response to crime and it enables them to identify and understand criminal groups operating in their areas. Intelligence provides the knowledge on which to base decision and select appropriate targets for investigations.

In the Ombudsman context, Intelligence will focus mainly on persons classified as Leaders pursuant to the Leadership Code Act and also the conduct of Government agencies. Analysing annual returns of Leaders and determining whether Leaders are filing the right information is something the Ombudsman Office will focus on in within the next three months.

The Office of the Ombudsman has recently created its intelligence section and is currently undertaking activities to enhance the function of this new section created within the office.

The training with the National Intelligence Unit of the Vanuatu Police Force evolves from the MOU between the two organisations signed in 2019.