Maldives: Urgent action needed to combat rising crime, says HRCM

The government is failing to address the causes of increasing crime rates and find a lasting a solution to the problem, the Human Rights Commission of Maldives (HRCM) has said.

Failure to enforce sentences for more than 500 convicts loose in society and a lengthy trial process were among the main reasons for the rise in criminal activity, according to a report released by the commission.

“It’s not that the numbers of criminals are increasing,” commission member Ahmed Abdul Kareem said, “It’s the same people committing crimes.

“The problem is, because they are free, they become repeat offenders. After a judge passes the verdict, he goes home to finds the convict at his door.”

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Ahmed Saleem, president of the commission, said members of HRCM held a lengthy discussion with President Mohamed Nasheed last December about the severity of the problem and the urgency of the need for action.

The president pledged full support from the government and asked for the HRCM’s recommendations to tackle the problem, Saleem said.

The report was compiled after broad discussions and consultation with all state actors in the criminal justice system, including police, Attorney General’s office, Prosecutor General’s office, the Home Ministry, as well as the Department of Penitentiary and Rehabilitation Services (DPRS).

Apart from cataloguing existing problems in each sector, the report also includes recommendations to the various government bodies, such as speeding up prosecution, imprisoning dangerous criminals and passing important legislation to revise the penal code and strengthen the criminal justice procedure.

Enough blame to go round

HRCM president Saleem criticised the prosecutor general’s office for not securing more convictions: “Police can only do so much. They can arrest, investigate and send cases to the Prosecutor General.”

“I think the only way to solve this would be to punish criminals according to the law.”

Failure to enforce sentences has led to juvenile delinquents becoming professional criminals, Saleem said, while Maafushi jail has turned many to a life of crime.

Operations of DPRS, which is tasked with enforcing prison sentences, have deteriorated, he continued, and Maafushi jail was effectively under the control of inmates.

Further, Abdul Kareem said the People’s Majlis should give due consideration to HRCM reports by debating them on the parliament floor: “Every time someone is knifed on the street, Majlis goes into alert. They will have debates and petitions will be submitted. But it will fade away after a few days and nothing is done.”

The HRCM called on Majlis to exercise oversight over independent institutions and, if necessary, launch parliamentary investigations for cases involving serious violations of human rights.

Abdul Kareem also noted that suspects in the gang-related murders of the past two years have yet to be brought to court.

Survey

“We no longer have a spirit of respecting the law,” Ahmed Saleem said, “The situation is worsening day after day as a result of everything becoming politicised.”

In a survey conducted for the crime report, among 1,000 members of the public, 19.1 per cent said the security of their homes was threatened by theft and burglary, followed by drug use (11.2 per cent) and gang violence (6.6 per cent).

Further, 21.8 per cent and 17.4 per cent cited gang violence and theft respectively as the foremost reasons for fearing for their safety at night on the streets on Male’.

Reasons given by the public for lack of confidence in police include a persisting negative image (13 per cent), perceived negligence (9.9 per cent), failure to take responsibility (9.7 per cent) and culpability in letting convicts go free (4.7 per cent).

Asked whether they would report crimes to the police, 14 per cent of respondents said they would not report drug use or trafficking out of fear for their safety, while 15 per cent said they would not call police for the same reason if they witnessed gang violence.

Date: 1 April 2009

Source: Minivan News