Administration Of Justice In The Pacific Islands

Research on policing in the Pacific Islands draws from multiple disciplines, reflecting the multifaceted nature of policing in local contexts that neither fit a Western model of statehood nor adopt an analytic position from the global North. This chapter sets the scene for a focused, contextualised and interdisciplinary discussion of policing in Pacific Islands countries and territories. It recognises the need to analyse policing both within the broader context of the global dynamics of policing, crime and (in)security, and within the specific, complex, and diverse countries and territories of the region. The chapter outlines the structure of the book and provides an overview of the chapters that follow.

With their rich traditions of conflict resolution and peacemaking, the Pacific Islands provide a fertile environment for developing new approaches to crime and conflict. Interactions between formal justice systems and informal methods of dispute resolution contain useful insights for policy makers and others interested in socially attuned resolutions to the problems of order that are found increasingly in the Pacific Islands as elsewhere. Contributors to this volume include Pacific Islanders from Vanuatu, Fiji, the Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea including Bougainville, as well as outsiders with a longstanding interest in the region. They come from a variety of backgrounds and include criminal justice practitioners, scholars, traditional leaders and community activists. The chapters deal with conflict in a variety of contexts, from interpersonal disputes within communities to large-scale conflicts between communities. This is a book not only of stories but also of practical models that combine different traditions in creative ways and that offer the prospect of building more sustainable resolutions to crime and conflict.