condemned to a lifetime of abuse. Further training and reinforcement is greatly needed to ensure that the no drop policy is to be universally applied and officers are fully aware of this. The Police are also not fully utilizing their powers under the law to address violence in general. 97 For example, under section 17 of the Young Offenders Act 2007 official warnings can be issued instead of criminal charges being laid against young people when the offence meets certain considerations.98 Therefore the youth is given a second chance, rather than being adopted into the formal criminal justice system, from where it is proven to be very hard to escape and avoid a lifetime of violent criminality. The use of warnings is therefore an essential tool in the police’s armory, which can prevent young people going to jail and reduce violent behaviour across society in general. “The powers have been there for so long and they could help keep our kids out of the formal justice system and away from a life of crime. But what I have taken from this is that has never happened. Why not?” Judge Rosella Papali’i, Family Violence Workshop, Apia, November 2017 9.2.1.3 Prevention programmes and activities Although the Inquiry acknowledges efforts undertaken by MoP to prevent family violence, it also notes that the initiatives to address family violence are often not universally rolled out and not monitored for effectiveness. An overall lack of officers means that the matter receives even less attention than it should. The Inquiry is encouraged to see an increased recruitment to the force as recent statistics show a low number of officers compared to other countries in the region. For example, Samoa recruits 1 officer to 795 people, compared to 1:418 in Fiji, 1:226 in Tonga and 1:240 in Vanuatu. 99 This lack of capacity also influences the force’s ability to foster close links with the community, an essential relationship for identifying and preventing family violence and all other forms of criminal behavior. A number of the witnesses to the Inquiry lamented the decline in community policing over the years, observing that the relationship between police and communities used to be far stronger. “We should focus more on community policing and relationship building. They should be visible advocates, not just there for enforcement and only around when laws have been broken.” Leautuliilagi Vanessa Barlow-Schuster, consultant and lawyer, Inquiry public hearings 97 A representative to the MJCA Family Violence workshop explained that police officers have yet to be trained in these powers and that the Standard Operating Procedures are currently with the Commissioner awaiting his approval, and have been for nearly a year. 98 Young Offenders Act 2007, Part 6. 99 Ramona Boodoosingh and Penelope Schoeffel. (2015). “Addressing Violence against Women in Developing Countries: The Case of Samoa.” Document 82 Inquiry anthology.