Sareera: PIC requires a separate law

Fathimath Sareera Ali Shareef, who assumed the post of president of the Police Integrity Commission (PIC) last week, has said that the commission requires its own law, separate from the Police Act.

Sareera made this remark while speaking on ‘50 Minute’ show on Sun TV, on Sunday night.

“The Police Integrity Commission should have a separate law. One reason to support this is that, the inclusion of the Police Integrity Commission in the Police Act causes confusion for the public. People are misled into believing that the Police Integrity Commission is a department, or an office, under the police. The second thing is that the Police Integrity Commission is a watchdog, established to monitor the activities of the Maldives Police Service. So I don’t think that the Police Integrity Commission should be part of the Police Act,” she said.

She added that she has been informed that efforts are ongoing to remove the PIC from the Police Act.

Sareera further said that presently, the PIC is not able to take action in the event that the Ministry of Home Affairs fails to follow its advice, which raises questions about the commission’s role. She said that several programs have been planned to increase public confidence in the commission.

Efforts are also ongoing to increase public confidence in the police, and the commission will pay close attention to ensuring that the police are protected by the law, said Sareera.

She said that the commission will also work towards making sure that police officers keep their actions within the boundaries of the law and regulations, and that the commission will conduct awareness programs in this regard for the police, as well as increase its efforts to monitor police training programs.

She also highlighted the importance of recognising good services provided by the police, and increasing public awareness regarding the role of the police.