Maldives Police Services' Crime Acting Head Chief Superintendent of Police Ahmed Nafiz has voiced concerns about certain difficulties faced by police in interventions in, and responding to, crimes involving individuals who are legally minors due to the existing laws and regulations.
He said that efforts are underway to revise this through the collaboration of Police, Ministry of Homeland Security and Technology, Attorney General's Office and other relevant institutions.
Nafiz's concerns are that, when police respond to scenes of violent or major crimes, there are instances of individuals who are just under legal adulthood being involved in these crimes, who he described as 'fully grown individuals between 17 to 18 years of age'.
Even in such instances, police are mandated to follow the overarching laws and regulations surrounding the handling of minors involved in crime. His stand is that this prevents Police officers from utilizing the regular tools they would normally use to restrain or, where necessary, detain, a suspect in such cases, increasing the risk for officers involved as well as by-standers in some circumstances.
"Even though we say 'children' and 'child crimes', when we attend the scenes, there are those just barely ahead of turning eighteen, fully grown individuals between 17 to 18 years of age, strong and well built, psychologically also with the mentality of an adult, even these individuals, we have to consider as children," Nafiz explained.
"Some of the equipment we use when we attend such scenes, there are obstacles in using them due to how the laws are established now, and hence we are working on revising these laws," he said.
Head of the Family and Children Department Superintendent of Police Abdulla Naseer said that 130 minors were detained by Police in relation to various matters during the last year, out of which 39 minors were arrested.
Article 32 of the Child Rights Protection Act, as well as Article 12 of the Juvenile Justice Act, stipulates that a juvenile should not be arrested or detained except in accordance with the law and as a last resort. In addition to this, the arrest or detention must be for the shortest period of time required.
While Article 48 (b) of the Juvenile Justice Act broadly defines instances in which police may be authorized to use some force in the restraining or detention of a minor, Article 48 (e) specifies that knives, guns, hand cuffs, chains, tazers, pepper spray, straitjackets, and other instruments to cause pain cannot be used in affecting the detention of a minor.
Sign In