Editing Tuvalu (section)

===Defence and law enforcement===
{{Main|Tuvalu Police Force}}
Tuvalu has no regular military forces, and spends no money on the military. Its national police force, the [[Tuvalu Police Force]] headquartered in Funafuti, includes a maritime [[surveillance]] unit, customs, prisons and immigration. Police officers wear [[Law enforcement in the United Kingdom|British-style]] [[uniform]]s.

From 1994 to 2019 Tuvalu policed its 200-kilometre [[exclusive economic zone]] with the [[Pacific-class patrol boat]] [[HMTSS Te Mataili|HMTSS ''Te Mataili'']], provided by Australia.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Tuvalu country brief |url=http://www.dfat.gov.au/GEO/tuvalu/tuvalu_brief.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110606234527/http://www.dfat.gov.au/GEO/tuvalu/tuvalu_brief.html |archive-date=2011-06-06 |access-date=14 April 2010 |publisher=Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade}}</ref> In 2019, Australia gifted a [[Guardian-class patrol boat]] as replacement.<ref name=defence2019-04-07/> Named [[HMTSS Te Mataili II (802)|HMTSS ''Te Mataili II'']], it is meant for use in maritime surveillance, [[fishery]] patrol and for search-and-rescue missions.<ref name=NavalToday2019-04-06/> ("HMTSS" stands for ''His/Her Majesty's Tuvaluan State Ship'' or for ''His/Her Majesty's Tuvalu Surveillance Ship''.) ''Te Mataili II'' was severely damaged by cyclones.<ref name="DFA23-5A">{{cite web |last= |first= |title=Tuvalu joins forces with Sea Shepherd Global to Combat Ilegal Fishing in Pacific Waters |work= Department of Foreign Affairs - Government of Tuvalu|page= |date=10 May 2023 |url=https://dfa.gov.tv/index.php/2023/05/10/tuvalu-joins-forces-with-sea-shepherd-global-to-combat-ilegal-fishing-in-pacific-waters/ |access-date=25 November 2023 |archive-date=25 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231125004217/https://dfa.gov.tv/index.php/2023/05/10/tuvalu-joins-forces-with-sea-shepherd-global-to-combat-ilegal-fishing-in-pacific-waters/ |url-status=live}}</ref> On 16 October 2024 Australia handed over a Guardian-class patrol boat to Tuvalu, which was named HMTSS ''Te Mataili III''><ref>{{cite web| first= Rojoef |last= Manuel|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-10-11/macrae-tuvalu-in-a-fight-for-its-life/3497128|title= Australia Transfers Guardian Patrol Boat to Tuvalu| date =22 October 2024|publisher=The Defence Post |access-date= 23 October 2024}}</ref>

In May 2023 the Government of Tuvalu signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Sea Shepherd Global, which is based in the Netherlands, to combat [[Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing|illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing]] in Tuvalu's [[Exclusive Economic Zone]] (EEZ).<ref name="DFA23-5A"/> Sea Shepherd Global will provide the ''Allankay'', a {{convert|54.6|m|ft}} motor vessel, to support Tuvalu's law enforcement activities.<ref name="DFA23-5A"/> ''Allankay'' will accommodate officers from the [[Law enforcement in Tuvalu|Tuvalu Police Force]], who have the authority to board, inspect, and arrest fishing vessels engaged in IUU activity in Tuvalu's EEZ.<ref name="DFA23-5A"/>

[[LGBT rights in Tuvalu|Male homosexuality]] is illegal in Tuvalu.<ref>{{cite news |title=Cooks bill puts spotlight on Pacific's anti-gay laws |url=https://www.rnz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/337461/cooks-bill-puts-spotlight-on-pacific-s-anti-gay-laws |work=[[RNZ News]] |date=21 August 2017 |access-date=31 July 2019 |archive-date=15 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180615163311/https://www.radionz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/337461/cooks-bill-puts-spotlight-on-pacific-s-anti-gay-laws |url-status=live}}</ref> [[Crime in Tuvalu]] is not a significant social problem due to an effective criminal justice system, also due to the influence of the ''[[Falekaupule]]'' (the traditional assembly of elders of each island) and the central role of [[Religion in Tuvalu|religious institutions]] in the Tuvaluan community.