The police force has had something of a hard time of it lately. From bikini-clad Germans photographed on official police boats to officers, from the catering section, rendering catering services at an external event hosted by the same ministry that is responsible for the police, to the ongoing saga over the false arrest of a man, the corps has been riddled with accusations and insinuations practically since the new commissioner took office.

At the moment it is the ongoing to and fro over the arrest of the wrong man for a hold-up.  While the independent police board’s inquiry into the matter, the results of which were released yesterday, leaves more than a lot to be desired, and while it still has not been proved one way or another whether the home affairs ministry used the services of a known criminal to bring one of the key players in for a talk at the ministry, one things is for certain – there was absolutely nothing illegal about the police having requested phone logs in connection with the case as the Opposition is alleging.

That is for the simple reason that the police requesting phone logs, or call profiles’ in such cases is far from being illegal or out of the ordinary.  More to the point, it is standard practice.

The police explained its position quite accurately this week, but only after having been dogged by the press. One does, however, wonder why it took the police so long to address the issue and the inaccuracies being made by the Opposition when it attempted to drag the corps over hot coals on the issue.

The police explained this week that it had been obliged to investigate an allegation that arose as part of the false arrest case, one involving an attempt made by a police official to approach a witness – a very serious matter indeed.  The police correctly explained that as such they were obliged to investigate these claims since the alleged crime falls under Articles 102, 110 and 111 of the Criminal Code including the offence of approaching witnesses to tamper with evidence, the creation of false proof and denying others of the right to provide information – many of which carry the prospect of prison sentences of more than a year, especially in terms of crimes committed by public officials.

In such circumstances, the police are authorised to request ‘call profiles’ – a law that has been used by the Police Force for years and which also conforms to the directive of the European Union. Such call profiles are not wire-tapping, which are another matter altogether that require a judicial go-ahead. A call or SMS profile constitutes a list of phone calls conducted or messages sent or exchanged backdated up to one year. Those call profiles have not endangered the public’s right to data protection since that information only becomes public domain when it is provided in court as evidence.

But while the issue of call and SMS and call profiles is crystal clear, the related police board inquiry report unfortunately raises several more questions than the answers it provides. We are sure there will be much more forthcoming on the issue on the issue in the not-too-distant-future.

Litmus test on hunting enforcement

All the signs have been positive so far, one day before the autumn hinting season starts. The courts sentenced two people for illegal hunting yesterday, the government has said it is ‘beefing up’ its capacity to crack down on illegal hunting and hunting organisations have declared that they will not tolerate illegalities.

But with the hunting season opening today, the government and the authorities face a litmus test on how they will contain illegalities during the great autumn bird migration.

The government has said it is seriously ‘beefing up’ enforcement for this autumn’s hunting season, and that it is coordinating with the police and other law enforcement agencies to ensure increased enforcement presence in the field in the autumn hunting season.

The Administrative Law Enforcement Unit of the Police is also being augmented with additional staff complement to ensure greater surveillance and monitoring of the countryside to eradicate and prevent potential infringements. Other enforcement personnel will assist the ALE.

Even more positively, the government has also promised to introduce “considerably harsher” and more effective penalties for bird hunting crimes.

Hunting lobbies, meanwhile, are warning their members that they will not tolerate any abuse and have urged members to call the police should they witness any illegalities.

The signs are good so far, let us have a safe and legal autumn hunting season.