Why the Maldives should not elect its police chief
"Impartial law enforcement will be the first casualty," a former commissioner warns.
Artwork: Dosain
12 Oct, 3:04 PM
In recent months, the national conversation around policing in the Maldives has taken a troubling turn.
As confidence in the Maldives Police Service seems to wane, a few reform advocates and public figures have begun floating an idea that feels both radical and risky, that the Commissioner of Police should be chosen through public election.
At first glance, it may sound like a bold democratic move: giving citizens a direct say in who leads their police.
But beneath that surface lies a host of dangers that could undermine everything we have tried to build: professionalism, neutrality, and institutional stability.
How the commissioner is appointed
The Police Service Act (34/2020) established a clear, semi-independent framework for appointing the commissioner and deputy commissioner.
When a vacancy arises, officers of assistant commissioner rank or higher can apply. A seven-member Police Board: composed of representatives picked and appointed by the Parliament, Executive, and public that reviews all applicants. Each candidate must also present a four-year national policing plan, which is scored as part of the assessment.
The board then submits its shortlist to the minister of homeland security and technology, who forwards a recommendation to the president for formal appointment.
It is not a perfect system. There is room for influence and manipulation, and recent appointments have indeed raised eyebrows.
But it is a process that is structured, competitive, and transparent enough to protect merit.
Rather than dismantle it, we should be strengthening it through clearer scoring, external observers, and public reporting of results.
Where policing leaders are elected
To understand the implications of electing a commissioner, it helps to look at places that already do.
🇺🇸 The United States – Elected Sheriffs
Across the US, about 3,000 counties elect their sheriffs, who serve as the top law enforcement officials in their jurisdictions.
It is often celebrated as a model of local accountability, but in practice, it has created enormous challenges.
Campaigns require money. Money requires donors. Donors often expect influence.
Many sheriffs run on populist “tough on crime” slogans, prioritising media headlines over long-term safety outcomes.
The case of Sheriff Joe Arpaio in Arizona, re-elected for decades despite civil rights violations and lawsuits, is a cautionary tale of what happens when policing becomes political theatre.
🇬🇧 The United Kingdom – Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs)
In England and Wales, since 2012, citizens elect Police and Crime Commissioners (PCC) who oversee each police force.
They do not run operations, but set strategy and can hire or fire the chief constable.
Even in this limited form, the results have been mixed.
Voter turnout rarely exceeds 20 percent, and many citizens admit they do not understand what the PCC does.
In several areas, PCCs have clashed publicly with Chief Constables, blurring the line between oversight and interference.
🇲🇽 Latin America – Politicised Policing
In parts of Mexico and Brazil, local police chiefs rise and fall with mayors or governors. Every political cycle brings new leadership, and often, new loyalties.
The result has been a culture of short-termism, corruption, and fragmentation.
Reform-minded officers rarely survive beyond the next election.
Why the Maldives shouldn’t follow this path
We must remember: the Maldives is a young democracy, only 17 years into its experiment with governing civilian policing.
Injecting electoral politics into the top of the police hierarchy would undo the fragile progress we have made.
1. Geography and cost
Campaigning across an archipelago of 1,190 islands would be logistically and financially impossible without major funding.
And whoever funds a campaign expects something in return.
That alone would compromise the independence of any commissioner before they even take office.
2. Politicisation of the profession
Elections would push career officers into political corners: campaigning, lobbying, and forming alliances.
Once that happens, neutrality is gone. Internal cohesion and discipline will follow.
3. Institutional immaturity
Since 2004, when policing separated from the military, we have worked to build an institution guided by law, not politics.
During my tenure as commissioner (2019 to 2023), we focused on professionalisation, transparency, and accountability.
We deployed body-worn cameras and community policing models to close the trust gap, not through slogans, but through conduct.
Real trust is earned in the everyday honesty of how officers do their jobs.
4. Democracy is not about electing everyone
True democracy means that institutions are accountable, not politicised.
Judges, auditors, and police leaders must serve the law, not the popularity of the moment.
Elections may appear democratic, but when applied to roles that require neutrality, they corrode the very principle of democracy itself.
A better way forward
If public confidence in policing is fading, the answer is not populism, it is integrity.
We can fix trust without politicising the profession.
Here is how:
Strengthen the Police Board: Include independent observers, publish evaluation summaries, and ensure civil-society participation.
Tie Continuation to Performance: Make the second four-year term conditional on transparent benchmarks – trust surveys, response times, ethical standards.
Rebuild Public Engagement: Conduct independent Public Confidence Surveys and create digital feedback platforms for citizens.
Legislative Safeguards: Ensure the appointment process is insulated from undue political or ministerial influence.
Institutional Charter of Independence: Codify that the Commissioner serves the law and the public interest, not any administration.
The real source of trust
When I took over as commissioner, the police service was in crisis, institutionally and morally.
We had to rebuild not just procedures but credibility.
Through patience, reform, and consistent leadership, we began to close the trust gap.
That trust was not earned through votes.
It was earned through transparency, professionalism, and moral courage – through every officer who chose to serve law before politics.
“Trust cannot be legislated or voted into existence. It must be earned.”
The day the Maldives decides to elect its commissioner of police will not be a leap forward in democracy, it will mark the moment politics enters the heart of policing.
And when that happens, impartial law enforcement, the kind that protects all citizens equally, will be the first casualty.
Mohamed Hameed served as the commissioner of police from 2019 to 2023.
Editor's note: Former MP Ali Hussain floated the idea of electing police chiefs last week, sparking debate as retired officers rejected the proposal. Elections would risk "turning the police service into a political contest," former assistant commissioner Dr Abdulla Fairoosh warned. Former commissioner Abdulla Riyaz concurred that the result would be "politicisation" of the security service.
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