President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has ratified the first amendment to the Maldives Police Service Act.

President Solih ratified the act on Wednesday.

Parliament passed the bill on Tuesday, March 20, 2023, at the 19th sitting of its first session this year.

The bill revises Sections 17 and 100(g) of the law.

Section 17 of the legislation governs procedures for conducting background and record checks on new applicants.

While the law mandates conducting background analyses of applicants before recruitment, the amendment makes polygraph tests optional to ease the recruitment process.

The bill also requires the relevant ministry or agency to formulate guidelines for conducting background analyses and record checks.

Section 100(g) of the law governs the educational qualification of investigation officers and grants them two years to obtain a minimum diploma qualification in the relevant field.

The new amendment gives the Commissioner of Police the authority to extend the deadline until March 27, 2024.

Following ratification, the law was published in the Government Gazette and is now in effect.