Cocos (Keeling) Islands
Policing
Australian Federal Police (AFP) members have served in the Cocos Islands since 1992. Since then numbers have increased to include a sergeant, constable and two local special constables.
The police station is a modern air conditioned building and includes police facilities such as police cells, the courthouse and search and rescue co-ordination. There are two four wheel drive vehicles, one off the road motorcycle and a 6 metre runabout boat.
Police duties include:
- all mainland community policing duties,
- court and traffic duties, including motor registry,
- carrying out Commonwealth legislation.
Policing functions include:
- customs
- immigration
- search and rescue co-ordination
- marine functions, including in-shore rescues
- cyclone territory controller.
Due to the small community and isolation of the Cocos Islands, police are on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Location
The Cocos (Keeling) Islands are located in the Indian Ocean 2768km north-west of Perth and 3685km west of Darwin.
The islands are a group of 27 islands in a horseshoe-shaped atoll surrounded by a coral reef located in the Indian Ocean, south of Indonesia, about half way between Australia and Sri Lanka and 2,950 km North West from Perth.
The Cocos Island consists of several main islands including Home Island, West Island, South Island, Horsburgh Island and Direction Island in the South Keeling group and North Keeling (Pulu) Island, which is a National Park, approximately 24 km north.
Climate
The climate is tropical with high humidity, modified by the southeast trade winds for about nine months of the year with a moderate rainfall of approximately 2000mm. Cyclones can occur in the early months of the year.
More information
The World Fact Book prepared by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) provides more information about Cocos Island (CIA World Factbook).