Cook Islands Police Service is intending to restart recruiting soon to address the pressure they face on weekends and increase police presence.

Police media and strategic advisor Trevor Pitt made these comments following the number of driving incidents police attended over the weekend.

Looking at the accident data, Pitt says the number of road crashes this month has surpassed last month’s figures.

He said they would release a total figure at the start of April.

Due to limited resources, especially staff shortage, the police struggle with making arrangements for road safety to prevent more accidents.

The lack of police officers, especially in the area of intel gathering and analysis, has limited police strategic tasking.

Pitt said in order to lessen the pressure for the police and increase their presence on the road, they intend to start recruiting soon.

Police recruitment for new intakes launched late last year received a disappointing response, with the starting salary at the minimum wage rate considered a major challenge.

Local market vendor Clerk Tangiura Turua shared his concerns yesterday about the increasing cases of drunk and reckless driving in Rarotonga.

Speaking to Cook Islands News, Turua said police needed to be more involved with the community due to accidents caused by reckless and intoxicated drivers.

He suggested more community police to monitor the roads for drivers, especially young individuals, who are recklessly pulling stunts.

“Anything can happen; it can kill somebody.” Turua said

He also suggested that more speed bumps should be installed in Rarotonga to prevent stunt driving and encourage adherence to the speed limit.

According to Pitt, police received three reports of road incidents over the weekend, resulting in two arrests.

On Friday, a minor collision occurred, with the vehicles involved sustaining slight damages.

At 8:51am, a report was filed to the police about a visitor in a rental car turning and colliding with an oncoming motorbike carrying two students near Polynesian Rentals. The students suffered minor scratches; the case is still pending.

The police made an arrest on the same day after a motorbike crash was reported on the main road of O’oa. The individual had consumed four times the legal limit of alcohol.

On Saturday at 7:42pm, an intoxicated driver, with a passenger, was driving from Nikao towards the controlled single-lane road bridge in Avatiu. The driver decided to drive through a red light and collided with an oncoming vehicle while under the influence of alcohol.

The witnesses at the bridge stopped the driver and removed his keys, the driver and passenger both had consumed alcohol that night.

Police were forced to bring in a translator as the two individuals were unable to understand or speak English.

A breathalyser test was performed on the individuals and the driver was arrested for having more than three times the limit of alcohol consumption.

The driver was bailed on Sunday and will appear in court on Thursday.

Pitt says road safety is one of their biggest concerns. Poor driving culture in Rarotonga as well as poor attitudes from drivers are resulting in road accidents.

“Carelessness continues to be the number one cause of crashes,” Pitt says

Brent Fisher, the president of the Cook Islands Road Safety, shared his concerns about road safety and suggested that the police should improve their system despite their issue with staff shortages.

Fisher acknowledged the police’s staffing problem but emphasised the need for a more visible and aware police presence.

He said that most of these accidents were due to drunk driving, with a particular focus on careless young teenagers.