It is not an easy time for the Police Commissioner and the police force.

It therefore took quite some courage for Mr John Rizzo to face the press last Friday in a rare editorial meeting which, in our opinion, should be held more regularly.

Such meetings help the media to better understand the difficult work the police corps has to carry out, and at the same time keep the public informed about ongoing issues concerning the force.

The recent spate of armed robberies has, in fact, worried a lot of people. But, as Mr Rizzo explained to the journalists who attended last Friday’s meeting, there is no crisis. It is normal for the crime rate to fluctuate from time to time. “Every now and then, you have a sudden increase in crime, such as the one we are experiencing now. This has happened before and it is bound to happen again.”

There is no cause for alarm, Mr Rizzo added, giving statistics that show that, in effect, there were fewer robberies reported in 2005, when compared to 2004. The police are doing their best to protect the public from crime, “but this does not mean that we are to blame for the crimes that are committed”.

Undoubtedly, the police are doing their best with the resources available. Mr Rizzo has good reason to demand more personnel for the police force. Although the number of policemen has increased over the past years, the population has risen too, and therefore more officers are needed to better control the situation.

At present, there are 1,789 police officers, which means a policeman for every 223 Maltese citizens. However, you have to take into consideration that not all policemen are on duty at any given time, and like all other workers, they have days off, vacation leave and sick leave as well. Another fact is that apart from the 400,000 or so locals, there are foreigners whom the police also have to deal with, and therefore the policeman-citizen ratio becomes much smaller.

The issue of more human resources always brings with it the question of finances. The recruitment of more police officers means more expenses for the government. However, we believe that the government should look into the situation and come up with a solution. The police force needs all the help it can get to do its duty and catch those who commit crimes.

Mr Rizzo said that the police mobile squad’s resources have been strengthened with the

addition of 15 police officers. He also said that 20 squad cars are constantly on patrol in various areas around the island.

While this is welcome, we are sure that the police commissioner would like the mobile squad to be strengthened further and that the number of cars available is also increased.

This would make it possible for the police to monitor the situation better. Nobody is asking for a police state – far from it. But we are sure that a better presence of policemen on our roads would make it harder for criminals to strike and make the public feel safer.

Of course, another important issue is that of police stations, some of which are kept closed or else are not adequately manned at all times. Again, this problem is related to the availability of resources. It would be ideal for all police stations to be kept open and adequately manned at all times – even during the night – but is this possible with the existing manpower?

As Mr Rizzo said, we should not look only at the negative side but also give credit to the successes achieved by the police corps over the past years. The public also has to show its appreciation for the sterling work that the police have carried out and continue to carry out.