President of the Police Officers’ Union Inspector Sandro Camilleri believes that the different types of crime require highly qualified personnel; however the low wages being paid to the police officers act as a deterrent.

“Today we have a lot of cyber crime, economic crime and fraud. This requires a certain number of police who are qualified in IT amongst other specialised skills. These crimes demand graduates of a certain level; do you think these people would be happy with €900 per month?”

“I believe the police academy needs to have structures in place in order to teach about these types of modern crimes, and how to tackle them,” Inspector Camilleri said.

He went on to explain how under previous Police Commissioners, such as John Rizzo, “in-house” training courses were available to the police force, which would update them on changing laws and provide them with a refresher on specific aspects of the job.

“There has been word that they might re-introduce these courses. I believe that this is a must.”

“With regard to investigative work, as a union we believe that this should be undertaken by specialised squads which can strengthen the level of work being carried out. I believe that the district police should not be burdened with this kind of work, they already have too much to keep up with. Separating the work of the specialised squadrons and the district police would allow for a higher level of professionalism.”

“When looking at the kind of work of the district police have to keep up with, you begin to understand. From keeping up with the Carnival rush, to investigating offences of certain importance, there is too much to keep up with.”

Credibility and public perception

 “I think the most pertinent problem is credibility. At the end of the day, this is one of the safest countries in Europe. Who’s responsible for this? Isn’t it the Police Corps?”

“The situation is completely ridiculous. Outside of Malta they complain about the police because of the high level of crimine found within society.”

“In the case of Malta, where the statistics show that we have one of the best Police Corps in Europe, people criticise us heavily, I do not think that this is just, especially when one considers the way members of the police force are treated.”

“There are deep rooted problems with the police. We can spend hours going into each one, but ultimately lack of resources remains one of the most frustrating shortcomings.”

“I think that since the police never had access to the media to release information, the negative public perception has grown. On the other hand, if you showed people the truth, they appreciate this.”

Transparency

“I strongly believe in transparency.”

“I think that the police officers union is showing through videos, facts, body cameras and testimonies that they are transparent and honest.”

“There are bad police members like with every type of job out there. There are priests who are bad people, teachers, anyone. The same can be said for the police. The good thing however when it comes to police is that we ourselves root out the bad weeds, nobody else is going to clean up after us, we have the option to do it ourselves.”

“Most of us are receiving some form of abuse or aggression day in, day out. Incidences which took place in the past, such as the 80s, have left the police force with a certain stigma.”

“It is not fair to tar everyone with the same brush. This causes a lot of damage, you are never going to expect words of praise from certain types of people, such as criminals. Although people talk about how much public perception has gone down, a look at the surveys show that the police is the only state organ which is continually passing with honours. This needs to be said as well.”

“We only consider the people who complain. Those that have good things to say do not make themselves known. Media-wise, the police have remained backwards, in my opinions this is has contributed towards negative public perception.”

“The work of the Police Officer’s Union, more than defending the police, is to release the facts to the public. In this way the members of the force are recognised, and their work acknowledged.”

 “We are doing this by providing the public with evidence, like the videos and the contact with the media.”

Risks while on duty

Inspector Camilleri spoke of the high levels of abuse being experienced by the Malta Police Force.

“It is something incredible that so many of our force are being injured each day and nobody knows anything about it.”

He added that when a judge or the courts are insulted and offended, the public is up in arms. He questioned why this is not the case for members of the police force. He said that when an officer puts on their uniform, they are representing the state. An insult or offence towards the state should not be tolerated or accepted.

Describing daily life in his role as President of the Union, Inspector Camilleri showed this newsroom a text message he received that morning describing how two officers were injured while on duty in Paceville.

“People say come on, this is a normal part of the job, but an officer’s life is highly stressful. I repeat here, this should not be tolerated.”

“Members of the Police force cannot really go anywhere. We have to be extra careful where we go, who we are speaking to and even when uploading content on Facebook, we need to be extra careful not to get attacked and insulted.”

“We need to watch out when choosing our partners too. Imagine having a girlfriend who’s cousin is a criminal and has an axe to grind with the police. You have to be careful about a 100 million things which leads to a very stressful life.”

“Malta is small, everybody knows everybody, it is impossible to remain anonymous. You constantly have to be watching your back, it is a massive deterrent against joining the police force.”

“Even having a simple hobby can be very stressful. Let us say you like to play football - you cannot just start going to any football ground. You would need to know who frequents the place, who is associated with the owners and the club, and assess whether you should be there or not. Nothing is straightforward.”

Preparedness for crimes plaguing the rest of the world

Turning to the issue of terrorism in the light of the many attacks being carried out the world over, he explained how he was one of the original members of the anti-terrorism unit in Malta.

“When it comes to terrorism, the secret service is the unit with the most involvement. Having said that, the secret service does keep in contact with the police force on this. Today there is an intelligence gathering unit which deals with counter-terrorism, it is not operative.”

“All over Europe there are anti terrorist groups. Malta is taking an active role within reasonable limits.”

Police fitness

On the subject of police fitness, this newsroom asked whether the Police Officers’ Union was doing anything to improve the current situation. Just a year ago, an amusing story made headlines after a thief had managed to outrun a police officer while wearing flip-flops.

Inspector Camilleri explained that he was currently in talks with a gym to broker a deal which provides memberships at discounted rates for officers.

He explained that when one considers the long hours, the stressful nature of the job and the low wages, it can get very difficult for the officers to maintain their physical fitness. He said that both himself and the Union are raising awareness and encouraging healthier habits.