What is happening in the police force at the moment is not a “mass exodus” but a natural process, particularly due to the fact that police officers may retire on pension after serving 25 years, police commissioner Michael Cassar told The Malta Independent.

Mr Cassar was giving comments to this newsroom following reports in other sections of the media that the force is experience a “mass exodus”, including that of a deputy commissioner and two assistant commissioners.

In the past months a number of senior police officers left the force because they had served the 25 years of service. Mr Cassar said that if they had opted to stay, they would not have been entitled to benefit from the two thirds pension while taking up other employment.

When asked specifically to explain why the deputy police commissioner Pierre Calleja and assistant police commissioners Antoine Casha and Norbert Ciappara resigned, together with a number of superintendents and inspectors, the Police Commissioner said that, “without going into the merits of individual officers by name, it is to be pointed out that of two of the three have reached the mandatory retirement age, and therefore they had no other option but to retire from the Public Service.

"With regards to the other officers mentioned, some resigned months ago, another (unlike what was reported) has not resigned at all, but is on special unpaid leave working with an international organization. One of the inspectors mentioned in the article has absolutely no intention of leaving the force.”