The Maldives Police Service has officially started using SmartDraw, a diagramming program, to help investigate road accidents.
Police said the software is being used by the traffic investigation function under the Traffic Police and Road Management, with the aim of speeding up investigations, making their findings more reliable and raising professional standards.
SmartDraw is designed to make it easy to sketch accident scenes. It comes with ready-made layouts for roads, intersections, T-junctions and straight stretches, as well as symbols for vehicles, motorcycles, traffic signs and traffic lights.
Investigators can also bring in Google Maps and satellite images to build diagrams, so that the full scene of an accident can be shown accurately.
Police described the move as an important step in modernising accident investigations, improving the quality of investigation reports, strengthening how evidence is recorded and making the work faster. They said further new technology and resources are being introduced to strengthen police services across the country.
The change comes as road accidents rise, particularly in the Malé region. More than 2,300 accidents have been reported in the Maldives so far this year.