Under the newly amended Criminal Procedure Code, the Department of Judicial Administration (DJA), on Saturday, announced that it was tasked with managing the state's crime records.
According to DJA, the decision was a result of the third amendment to the Code, which mandates Attorney General Ibrahim Riffath to assign an institution to keep its records and issue clearance certificates.
The reform was brought under stark criticism against the previously observed policy to clear such records, which was often touted as ineffective under its heavily bureaucratic model.
Both Maldivians and foreigners can now access the records by e-mailing DJA with the required documents.
President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih in September, ratified the long-awaited third amendment to the Criminal Procedure Code, which finally listed rape and sexual abuse of minors as serious criminal offences in addition to adding enforcement mechanisms to the code.