Dr Gavin Gulia (TMID, 2 April), for the umpteenth time, laments that the police corps is in dire straits, that the employment conditions of its members are abysmal, that the government is being miserly with members of the force, and that for the police force the end of the world is nigh.

For the past eight years, I have painstakingly explained during the annual budget debate, the obvious reality regarding government expenditure and the police force. Each time there has been a Nationalist government in power, conditions of employment and pay have improved.

Under a Labour government they have invariably deteriorated. No one can forget the 1996 Labour pledge to ameliorate police pay the moment a Labour government was elected to office – instead of which, on being elected to office the Labour administration cut back a cool Lm600,000 from the police pay packet and introduced schemes to avoid police officers being on duty, on double pay, on Sundays, under the ridiculous pretext that such schemes were welcomed by the police since they would enable them to spend more time with their families! As if the criminal world hibernates at weekends!

Since 1998, total government expenditure on police pay has soared from Lm12 to Lm15 million. A police constable’s basic salary has risen by 38 per cent over the same period, and police allowances, overtime and extra duty for 2006 amounted to Lm3 million – an average of Lm1,666 per member of the corps over and above basic salary.

Dr Gulia strangely queries the policy, which has been in force within the corps for the past nine years, of requiring ‘O’ level standard for any sergeant within the corps to apply to become a police inspector. I was baffled by the following statement by my shadow: “police sergeants with… no ordinary level education… have been automatically excluded from applying.”

Presumably Dr Gulia feels that while police constables need a minimum ‘O’ level standard in three subjects to enter the corps, for a sergeant to be promoted to police inspector, there should be no need for any ‘O’ level standard of education. Coming from an Opposition frontbencher who aspires – and has aspired for the past nine years – to hold the office of minister for police, and lead the Force in the 21st Century, such a remark is indeed worth noting.

What Dr Gulia failed to realise – and his advisors failed to remind him of – is that this ‘O’ level standard requirement for promotion to the rank of police inspector was introduced by a Labour government.

Probably Dr Gulia is still reeling from the news recently given by the Commissioner relating to the persistent decline in the crime rate for the first quarter of 2007, and has suffered from a convenient bout of amnesia.

As regards members of the police force who graduate with any university degree, and occupy an office below the rank of inspector, an opportunity has been given to them to sit for the police inspector course, in accordance with Public Service Commission rules which do not allow for automatic promotion to police inspector on graduating from university. Indeed it is fit and proper that all candidates follow the specialised police inspector course for promotion – as has always been the case under different governments.

For the past eight years I have been listening to Dr Gulia’s annual announcement that the police corps is demoralised. During this period of persistent “demoralisation”, the police force has moved from strength to strength in several areas. It has managed to register one success after another in the fight against drugs and organised crime, has reduced the crime rate by 11 per cent, tackled firmly the immigration emergency, adopted itself to the new European Union reality, paved the way for its integration in the Schengen system and solved serious crimes, particularly homicides, committed decades ago. Besides, the government has practically issued one call after another to ensure the proper numerical strength of the force.

Dr Gulia is appalled by what he considers to be a rising number of resignations from the force. As I have already stated in Parliament, resignations from the force are not out of the ordinary, particularly since a Nationalist government reintroduced the 25 year service pension for the police force, and eliminated the callous rule – introduced under a Labour government – that normal earnings from work following retirement be deducted from one’s police pension.

What Dr Gulia conveniently omitted to mention is that the highest number of resignations from the police force was registered during a Labour Administration in 1996-1998. In fact in 22 months, 134 members of the force resigned, an average of 73 per annum, as opposed to the annual average of 42 for the past eight years.

The members of the police force were fooled by the Labour Party in 1996. Eleven years later they are determined not to make the same mistake.

Dr Tonio Borg is Deputy Prime Minister and Justice and Home Affairs Minister