Given that this newsroom has the police’s attention, we would like to take the opportunity to ask them to reply to questions sent to them several months ago which never received a reply.

 

Birdlife arrests

 

The first set of questions ignored by the police was on the arrest of BirdLife Malta’s communications officer Rupert Masefield for filming police officers. These questions were sent on 29 April 2014. The police acknowledged receipt of the questions but never got back to this newsroom. The questions asked were: Is there any law prohibiting members of the public from filming police officers on duty in public places? Can police officers on duty legitimately order members of the public to stop filming them, and if so, under what circumstances can they do so? Can they simply order people to stop filming them whenever they see fit?   Refresher training for reinstated officers The second set of questions sent to the police asked whether reinstated officers, some of whom have been absent from the force for 25 years, have had to undergo some sort of refresher training course. The questions were sent on 18 June 2014. The police never replied.   Sliema burglaries and prostitution adverts   The police failed to answer questions on the latest developments in the spate of robberies in Sliema. This newsroom asked how many reports of theft it had received in the past two months, and whether patrols have increased. There questions were sent on 23 June 2014.   In separate questions sent on the same day, this newsroom asked the police if they were aware of a number of websites advertising prostitution in Malta.   Cyber-stalking   On 13 July 2014, we asked whether the police were aware of a high-profile cyber-stalking case. Once again, receipt of the questions was acknowledged but no reply was ever received.