President inaugurates Juvenile Halfway House in Hoarafushi

President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu on Thursday inaugurated the Juvenile Halfway House built in HA. Hoarafushi.

The Juvenile Halfway House – built as required under the Juvenile Justice Act to rehabilitate juvenile offenders before they are reintegrated into society – was inaugurated by President Muizzu on Thursday during a visit to Hoarafushi – the second last stop in his three-day tour of HA. Atoll.

The MVR 6.1 million project to construct the Juvenile Halfway House was contracted to the Maldives Transport and Contracting Company (MTCC) in October 2022.

The Juvenile Halfway House in Hoarafushi is the first Juvenile Justice Unit to be established outside of the Maldivian capital.

The facility is managed by the Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) – run under the Homeland Security Ministry.

The Juvenile Justice Act was enacted on November 20, 2019.

In addition to running juvenile halfway houses, the law also mandates the DJJ to conduct research to identify reasons for juvenile delinquency.

In April last year, Homeland Security Minister Ali Ihusan announced plans to lower the age of criminal liability from 15 to 12 years in April, after schoolboys were caught on video beating and bulling a peer in AA. Rasdhoo.

And in June, Ihusan said that the latest assessment by the Homeland Security Ministry showed there were some 400 juveniles across the country with links to criminal gangs, in need of immediate intervention.

He also announced plans to develop an island to rehabilitate juvenile delinquents, called ‘Hope Island.’ He said that young offenders will be kept at the facility until they turn 18, after which they will be assessed and either be reintegrated back to society while being monitored, or enlisted to the police or military.

During his parliamentary committee interview ahead of his appointment in September, Prosecutor General Abbas Shareef voiced support for both the plan to lower the age of criminal liability as well as the ‘Hope Island’ project – a different stance than his predecessor.