In a ceremony held on Friday night at Fort St. Elmo, 44 new recruits joined the Police Force as constables after completing a nine-week training course.

The course involved both physical and academic training, and will allow the new constables to be able to give professional and dedicated service to the community and the country as a whole.

In his speech to the new members of the force, Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri said that as policemen and women they represent Malta every day.

“You can be the symbols of Malta as a country which observes public order, which believes in discipline, and which above all else actively works to prevent criminality”, Camilleri said.

He said that they will find a government which is ready to invest in them to ensure that they can carry out their work in serenity.

Police Commissioner Angelo Gafa told the new members of the force that their uniform gives them their identity. He said that the uniform is a police promise – a promise to serve the country’s citizens without fear or favour.

“You are joining a force in a time when it will be adopting a new Code of Ethics, a new politics against fraud and corruption, and ne rules about what other activities a member of the force can do outside of their normal work”, he said.

He appealed to the new recruits so that if there is a “bad apple”, they bring that person to the attention of their superiors through the new systems which will be introduced to make making these reports easier.

Gafa said that the new recruits are an important part of the transformation which the Force will be going through in the coming months and years in order for it to reflect the needs of a modern society.

“Today’s society is one which requires more transparency and more accountability.  It is a society which continuously exposes our work through live feeds on social media. Above all else, it is a society which has to be part of the Force’s work, and this is something we must welcome with open arms”, he said.

The Mark Farrugia Shield for the recruit who distinguished themselves most during the training was awarded to 24-year-old Sarah Galea.

Galea applied for the Police Force as she sees the work as a career and a vocation, and the police described her as a person who feels that the police should be the protector for people and people who listen to victims to understand them

Prizes were awarded to the best two people in academic subjects – where Sarah Galea came first and Yanika Ciappara came second, and practical subjects – where Jan Debono came first, and Gabriel Portelli came second.

Photos: CMRU