The police force is in the process of issuing a call for applications for the post of director general, a position that will replace that of the chief executive officer as was announced by new police chief last June, The Malta Independent on Sunday has learnt.
Addressing the media in his first press conference as police commissioner, Angelo Gafa had then indicated that the post of CEO, which Gafa himself held for four years, will be reformed as part of a wider redistribution of duties within the force.
Replying to questions sent this week by The Malta Independent on Sunday, the police said that it is “in the process of issuing a call for applications for a Director General (Strategy & Support) which, in the corps’ organisational set-up, is listed as the Chief Corporate Services Officer”.
The eventual appointee will be responsible for five areas pertaining to the force: HR Function, ICT, Finance and Administration, Strategy and Transformation, and Corporate Services and Governance, all of which have their own respective heads.
In the police hierarchy, the director general will be directly responsible to the Commissioner of Police, on the same level as the two deputy commissioners. At present they are Antoine Casha, who is responsible for Investigations and Technical Support, and Carmelo Magri, who is in charge of Field and Operational Support.
The revision of the role of CEO is not the only change that has been introduced by Gafa in these last three months.
Among them is the regrouping of the 12 police districts, including Gozo, which are now divided into two regions, instead of four, sources said.
Given the more recent focus on money-laundering activities, the Economic Crimes Unit has been renamed as the Financial Crimes Investigation unit, with a special emphasis on dealing with illicit transactions.
The Criminal Investigation Department, probably the most known branch of the corps as CID, has now become known as the Major Crimes and Security division.
A gender-based and domestic violence unit has also been set up to tackle related crimes, whose number is growing in Malta. Domestic violence complaints make up a third of the reports received by the police, up 15 per cent from last year, Gafa had said last month when the police launched a domestic violence training simulator to enable officers to show more empathy with victims.
Over the last three months, the police have also expanded their community policing project to cover more localities, while also keeping better lines of communication open with the media, especially when major crimes take place.
Gafa had himself been appointed as the first CEO of the force in 2016, but then moved on to become commissioner after he was chosen following a public call for applications earlier this year.
It was the first time a chief of police was not handpicked by the government of the day. A call for applications had been opened, with 14 applying for the post. The number had then been whittled down to two by the Public Service Commission. The two shortlisted applicants had been submitted to the Cabinet, which chose Gafa, who later faced parliamentary scrutiny before being officially appointed on 23 June.
Assistant Commissioner Alexandra Mamo, who was the other person shortlisted for the post of police chief along with Gafa, had been immediately named as responsible for the Financial Crimes Investigation Unit.