President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has announced that the police services will be expanded to 25 additional islands. He made the statement while speaking at the ceremony held to mark the 89th anniversary of the police service in the Maldives.
Speaking at the ceremony, President Solih said a police presence will be established on all inhabited islands in the Maldives by 2023 in a major initiative to ensure a safe and secure country, adding contracts have been drawn up to build police stations on 61 islands. The president emphasised that improving the standard of the police service is a critical task entrusted to the government by the people, and highlighted the numerous strides made in police reform over the last three years. He noted the efforts to expand neighbourhood police to all islands and said that professional development programmes have been launched on all the islands where a police presence has been established.
Furthermore, President Solih said the establishment of the National College of Policing and Law Enforcement in Addu City was a result of the hard work of successive governments and their determination to improve police services in the Maldives. He recognised the National College of Policing and Law Enforcement as a token of goodwill from the Government of India to the Maldives. He also affirmed that the administration is committed to enhancing the capacity of the police and assured that the police will be provided with the necessary human resources, training, and technologies required to elevate their standards.