Anti-rights mindset harms police work, Ihsan says

Homeland Security Minister Ali Ihsan said on Saturday evening that it is wrong to think every action of the police is a violation of a right and that this mindset leaves the police abused.

The Minister was speaking at a ceremony to mark the 10th anniversary of the 'Rakka Road Show' conducted by the police, which was held in Fuvahmulah on Saturday.

Ihsan said one has to accept that there will always be some difficulty in enforcing the law. We also have to accept that law enforcement is only required when someone violates the law, he said.

"We have to realise that children who violate the law cannot be rehabilitated without taking measures. With the intention of protecting a child who goes down the wrong path, our efforts to protect him more often push him further into wrongdoing. We need to change this culture," Ihsan said.

He said that was not the mindset of the people years ago. He gave an example of the punishment given to children by their parents if any case relating to the child reached the island office. However, now that mindset has changed and parents are filing complaints with the commissions without even clarifying what their child had done or what had happened.

"It is a big mistake to think that every police officer or every police action is a deprivation of a person's rights. I am not saying that every police action guarantees all rights. That is why there are commissions. But I feel that this has progressed to a level where we are being abused now”.

He said many laws are being implemented and some people may find this difficult, as there may be people who benefited from laws that were not implemented.