Maldives Police Service (MPS) has launched the Integrated Drug Enforcement Dashboard.
The dashboard was officially launched by Commissioner of Police (CP) Mohamed Hameed. The dashboard displays the data and information acquired on drug cases investigated by MPS across the country.
Speaking at the launching ceremony, CP Hameed said 70-80% of all criminal offences conducted in the Maldives are directly or indirectly linked to drugs. The commissioner said large efforts are needed at a national level to effectively address the problem of drugs in the country. As such, he noted the Strategic Action Plan (SAP) of MPS places a high priority to the fight against drugs.
Further, CP Hameed said the newly introduced integrated dashboard will help to visualise the level of the drug problem in each individual island and atoll, using evidence-based data. He said the new dashboard is a boost to the efforts to strengthen drug operations and policies.
Some of the important information available on the drug enforcement dashboard include the level at which police have attended to drug cases between 2015 and 2021, the number of reported drug users, their age and the type of drug to which they tested positive. Furthermore, the dashboard provides information on the location of active drug networks and the level of reporting in each individual island or atoll.
MPS has also conducted a special event called the Drug Enforcement Media Event, to provide information to the press on the nationwide problem of drugs. Information was presented to 14 media outlets through this event.