National security is a paramount prerequisite for any society to function properly. As long as I have been active in public life, I have always taken a keen interest in this area, and today, I feel that it is in dire need of attention, more than ever before.
Responsible for an integral part of this equation are our disciplined corps which, unfortunately, in their current state, leave much to be desired – out of absolutely no fault of our brave women and men uniform.
In fact, for too long, have they been devalued and demotivated by the very persons who are supposed to give them the necessary resources to carry out their jobs. We are blessed with great people, who go way beyond their call of duty, on the ground, yet unfortunately their hard work is undermined by the very people who are supposed to motivate and empower them.
This is beyond ridiculous and needs to be addressed with urgency. We need to render the deserved dignity back to all our disciplined corps.
In a county with a growing population and ever-evolving challenges, we need to be in a position to attract more qualified and motivated individuals to join our Police Force, our Armed Forces, our Civil Protection Department and the Corrective Facility corps, while making sure to create the perfect environment to retain the best talent on board.
We can do this by improving working conditions, including overtime, extra duty rates, service pensions and better work-life balance measures. We must address, and once and for all close, cases of injustice that took place in the past. It is time to look forward!
Furthermore, Customs officials must be recognised as forming part of the big family of disciplined corps, as they too form an integral part of the chain against criminality.
In the more specific, we need a complete overhaul and modernisation plan for our Police Force, furnishing it with the right tools and resources to carry out its functions and operational activities. We need to give our Police Force a specialised centre which would concentrate all its crime-combatting efforts in one place, especially focusing on gender-based crimes, and crimes against the most vulnerable members of society. We also need to modernise our Police stations, as in some cases, certain stations look like they’re stuck in some gone by era.
With regards to the Armed Forces, we need to evolve the role of this body, to better function in a modern 21st Century country. We ought to give better recognition to those members of the Armed Forces who represent our country in operations abroad. Work on such missions should be properly recognised and rewarded, through a medal, but more significantly through double-time adjustment for time spent abroad, when calculating an individual’s pension. Moreover, the Volunteer Reserve Force needs to be recognised as the real resource that it is, and not merely as a solution for emergencies only. Investment in our Armed Forces is a must, and should not be tainted with partisan political discourse – such as the Government’s populist approach in tarnishing investment in Security and Defence with that of calls for war.
We need to give a more proactive role to the Civil Protection Department in order for it to engage in more preventive activities, in fields such as education and immediate response. Further investment in modern technology and infrastructure needs to take place, while regular specialised training for members of the disciplined corps is guaranteed.
Lastly, it is no secret that a major reform in the running of the Kordin Correctional Facility has been direly needed for many years now. We need to introduce a robust mentality of dignified discipline at the facility which has long been missing.
Our prisons should offer a real opportunity for perpetrators to reform their ways, and rehabilitate successfully into society. Concurrently, they must become effective deterrents that provide a real sense of consequence to one’s actions.
Significantly, voluntary organisations who engage in incredible work with residents and their families need to be supported and sustained in a structured way, in order to encourage more people to join this honourable cause.
Ultimately it all boils down to dignity. We must value the efforts our women and men in uniform, and motivate them further in their daily journeys.
Dr Darren Carabott is the Opposition’s Shadow Minister for Home Affairs, Security and Reforms, and President of the Public Accounts Committee.