President Mohamed Nasheed, speaking at the function to mark the 78th anniversary of police service in the Maldives, has called on the public to show appreciation for the services of Maldivian police to the community.
He also asked the public to support and cooperate with the police under all circumstances.
In addition, the President urged the police to show compassion and closeness and be supportive towards the people in discharging their duties as police officers.
Commending the services of Maldivian police, throughout the long history of their service in the Maldives, he said the services of police were more important now than ever.
Noting that the country was currently in the early stages of consolidating democracy, he said that no institution, including police or security forces, would receive the due respect and appreciation for their services under any other system of governance.
In this regard, the President commended the way in which the police have been discharging their duty to maintain democracy in the country. He said the whole country appreciated the role of police in ensuring a smooth transition to democracy in the Maldives.
He said, despite many obstacles, Maldivian police have achieved significant milestones in fulfilling their duties, and detailed some of the achievements of police in reducing crime in the country.
Furthermore, the President said that no individual should encourage criminal activities, and called for a concerted effort from all involved in the criminal justice system to fight crime in the Maldives.
He said the prevailing crime rate was linked to the social problems and reiterated the government’s commitment to address social problems that lead to criminal activities.
The President pledged to weed out criminal activities to alleviate social distress due to increasing incidence of serious crimes, and restore societal peace in the country.
Continuing on, at his address to Maldivian police on its 78th anniversary, the President called for the cooperation of private sector with the government in its efforts to address social problems in this country.
He urged the local business organizations and employers to support and help Maldivian youth to break away from the cycle of crime.
He said many youth, who have had an unfortunate past of crimes, were often overlooked for jobs because of their criminal records.
Hence, he asked the employers to show compassion towards youth with records of past crimes, considering the best interest of the nation, when recruiting.
At the function held at Dharubaaruge yesterday, the President presented tokens of appreciation to members of the public for their assistance and support for the Maldives Police Service during the past year.
