Police to work with PG to remove 1,000 repeat offenders in Male'

Police are in discussions with the Prosecutor General’s Office to address the presence of around 1,000 repeat offenders on the streets of Male', a move that could help reduce rising theft rates in the capital.

Speaking at a press conference at Iskandhar Koshi, Superintendent of Police Abdulla Rasheed said the increase in thefts is partly due to repeat offenders remaining at large and partly due to insufficient security measures for goods.

“There are about 1,000 people who are repeat offenders. They are involved in almost all thefts,” Rasheed said.

He added that some of these individuals have been stopped and questioned 1,012 times so far this year, arrested 128 times, and had 580 further stops and 55 arrests recorded.

“These people being free on the streets is a major factor driving up crime rates,” Rasheed said.

Assistant Commissioner of Police Abdulla Shareef noted that a number of cases have been investigated and referred to the Prosecutor General’s Office for prosecution.

“We believe that once they are sentenced and detained, we will see results,” he said.

Rasheed said the police, the Prosecutor General’s Office, and the Criminal Court have begun a coordinated effort to separate repeat offenders from the community.

“Since last month, we have been compiling a list of the most frequent offenders and identifying those eligible for sentencing, with the process now underway,” he said.

He added that the authorities expect to see measurable results within six months.