The Maldives Police Service have confirmed they have taken kids from the streets whom they suspect could become involved in crimes, and placed them in a Correctional Training Centre on Feydhufinolhu for an indefinite duration, without a court order.
The children taken to the centre, who are under the age of 18, are kept “until we can guarantee that they are fully ready to be released into society,” said Police Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam.
”They are kids who are on the streets, and do not attend school,” Shiyam said. ”We only take the children after informing their parents and after they have agreed.”
Many children taken to the centre “are illiterate and do not even know how to pray,” he said, explaining that they were taught subjects like Islam, handicrafts and computing.
”We have 18 children in the centre,” he said. ”We have not released any kid since [it opened in] August.”
”At first some parents were not satisfied,” Shiyam said, ”but later they realised that their children’s behaviour was improving, and now they are happy.”
He said that the date the kids would be handed back to their parents was yet to be decided.
However, a 16 year old boy who was kept in the centre for over two months told Minivan News on condition of anonymity that many kids had been released from the centre, ”hurting the morale of the kids left behind.”
He said parents were told that the kids were being taken to the centre for a special programme and would be released after six months.
”But one day the Commissioner of Police came and said that they had made the duration for 3 months,” he said. ”All the kids were very happy and were hoping to meet their families and loved ones soon.”
He said it had now been more than seven months: ”They released some of them, and kept the rest,” he said. ”There are kids there taken from Fuvamulah, Addu and Male’.”
He said that he was taken while sitting in front of his house.
”Police suspected that I was involved in a stabbing case and took me away,” he said. ”Everyone there is so young and so isolated and stressed – on September 5 a kid there even attempted suicide because he missed his Mum and Dad. Everyone feels like they have been banished.”
He claimed that the police only gave the children a five minute phone call to speak with their families, and that many parents confused about what was going on and when their children would be released.
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WHAT???!!!!!! This is ridiculous and absurd! Who does the police think they are?
Is this not unlawful deprivation of liberty?
Good initiative by the police, although not through bureaucratic route. These kids would either go into crime/drugs and would not be a help to society. The children are at least being literate and taught a craft.
With some reforms the program would work great
hahaha.. police randomly picks who they think might be criminals in the future.. I should go and ask Faseeh to foretell my future..
This is ridiculous, truly an outrage...thank you for Minivan News for bringing this out.
Agree with Knox....it definetly needs a lot of improvement and it may actually be better to take those who actually commit a crime rather than someone who is likely to....those who commit crimes, no matter what age, will only realize that their actions have consequences only if such consequences are there...now its a like a fav hobby for these street kids to go around stabbing and hurting people. So overall I support the basic idea here, better for the Police to do something about it rather than nothing, but would be good if those who actually commit crimes are punished. As for street kids who may have the profile of potential criminals, where is the Ministry of Family that is supposed to take care of these issues? Why doesn't the President have the guts to sack inefficient Ministers, no matter which Minister it is and actually do something that will yeild results.
Ammatasiri!!! is the police out of their minds? Its kindda like kidnapping... The police just cannot take away someone for several months because they suspect..??? Especially when these children have families here. Is this a joke?
WTF!? This is completely unacceptable!? What happened to due process? How is this allowed under the constitution?
I applaud the police and everyone else who step in to help kids when their parents don't or can't. Time spenty under police supervision will surely be better than loitering on the streets and getting recruited into criminal activities or become drug addicts. Several kids in my neighborhood including girls as young as nine or ten years old, spend all day out on the streets, mingling with those from gangs. It is totally irresponsible and cruel to abandon these kids to a life of crime or premature death in the name of "due process" or protecting liberty.
This is great! Far too many Psychopathic serial killing teenagers roaming around Maldives.
They have their hair like a mop , wear sun glasses, smoking cigerrates, stoned, wearing heavy metal clothes as if they are cool, robbing , stabbing and raping whomever they wish.
These are idiotic kids. Please lock everyone of those up. Whoever is not going to school and roaming around with their so called Stressed Out (Stoned Cold) friends with a nut in their head.
Great Work Police!!
Did you all read only half the article? It says children are taken with the permission of their parents. Many countries have boot camp style corrections facilities and young children are taken there against the childrens' will. I see no major difference here. Police here may be picking kids off the street insteat of parents handing them over but as long as parents give their consent, you do not have to worry about your own kids do you?
We all agree with the state of Maldivian streets and it's not like the justice system will keep any criminals locked up. A rough appearance it may have but I think we need to support things that are done in the interest of law abiding citizens as long as they are done within the law. Human rights is not all bout the rights of the bad guys... We too have a right to walk safely in the streets...
”We only take the children after informing their parents and after they have agreed.”
”At first some parents were not satisfied,” Shiyam said, ”but later they realised that their children’s behaviour was improving, and now they are happy.”
The blaring question is if a parent was unhappy why would they give the permission for someone else to 'parent' their own children! This is immoral stupidity on the part of the Police. This is not their duty of care.
ook lets say the intentions are right. But by god, its not the right way to be doing this is it.
Doesnt this somehow violate the children's right. If they arent going to school, isnt it better to make a regulating that says schoolin upto a point is compulsory. and make parents and children obligated to it.
Then if they arent going to school, the state can take it upon themselves to make them literate beings. Then they have fair warning of the coming abduction and deprivation of liberty.
Long overdue...... Definitely some measure has to be taken to avoid the fall of the society into complete decadence. Its just not over-night that a criminal is made or born. However, I do feel that more consideration has to be given to this issue, especially from the legalities involved and the criteria for "kids" to be sent to the correctional facility. What we also have to understand is that the issue of "Juvenile delinquency" is something that has always been in this society. We need to find a way how this could be more appropriately addressed, so as to ensure that "Kids" have as better future and improved life.
well done! I applaud the police. we need more programs like this for this country if it is to have a future.
what this country needs is A Clockwork Orange style rehabilitation program for all these useless delinquants who make up the majority of society and who make it impossible to even walk on the road without the risk of getting stabbed or run over. so yes please keep them in there for however long it takes. we are not civilised enough for things like human rights etc. etc
I think people can get alarmed after they read this article because it is the POLICE who is doing this.
In most countries, they have specific government agencies who do this. But we do not have such a system and so police is doing.
If the children are taken with the permission of their parents, then it is not against the law, i think.
While I think taking the unruly lot away for rehabilitation makes the streets safe for the rest, I sympathise with the kids. I can't blame all of them for what they are.
Many kids do not go to school because their families are simply not educated enough to make them aware of the importance of education. Most of these children come from poor families.
We need to increase the average income of these poor families. We need to run projects that will address families with these sorts of issues.
There's a lot that can be done and a lot more that needs to be done.
lets gas them and all the bearded fanatics ! perhaps we need to read Goebbels handbook?
get some more please.... i cant sleep at night because of this kind of kids roaming and shouting in the middle of the night.
Because this is done by Police, it could be seen as crime to some while it is a relief to many who spend sleepless nights in some parts Maldives, especially Male'.
But I could bet, that if it were the elites, hierarchy and the "thoroughbreds" who were to spend sleepless nights in a ground floor quarter, it would be them who would howl "OFF WITH THEIR HEADS", it would not then be a subject for debate or whatsoever!
More need to be done for betterment of our endangered social and economic structure!
There are so many things that worry me about this - not least the fact that these children have not committed any crime. Who are the police to predict who is or is not likely not become involved in criminal activity in the future? This is not even a case of guilty until proven innocent - these children are acknowledged as being innocent, yet they are being treated as though they were guilty. The police's predictions may of course turn out to be true - but if these children, when they are released, do not turn to crime there is no way of knowing whether this is because of this programme. And if they do become criminals then what does that prove? That the police are right with their predictions - yes - but also that the programme is a failure... I wonder who is responsible for instructing the police to carry out this programme? And why is there no comment from the Human Rights Commission? Surely they must have something to say about this!?