Minister of Home Affairs Imran Abdulla has stated that the government is assisting in the efforts to regain public trust in the Maldives Police Service (MPS). He made the remark at the opening ceremony of the Police Research and Innovation Conference.
At the ceremony, Minister Imran noted that reforming the MPS is a pledge of President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih and that major changes have been made to increase public trust in the police service. He added that the ratification of the Police Service Act has also brought major changes and that the Police Research and Innovation Conference will assist in the efforts to reform the police service.
Also at the ceremony, Commissioner of Police Mohamed Hameed said the police board, formed under the Police Service Act, has implemented positive changes to MPS. As such, he said the police board is hosting the conference as part of its efforts to transform police officers into educated and well-trained individuals.
Additionally, Commissioner Hameed said MPS needs to change with the times and police officers need to continuously train to keep up with criminals that adapt to the change in trends. He expressed confidence that the conference will provide a venue for attendees to discuss the latest findings on criminal behaviour and police work, noting that developed countries are always analysing and implementing changes based on the latest research.
During the three-day conference, a total of 10 research papers will be presented at the conference on the topic of crime prevention, national security and counter-terrorism, financial crime and anti-money laundering, cybercrime, forensic leadership organisation resilience, innovation and technology, transport and maritime security, efficiency and effectiveness, and road safety.