Last week, the Nationalist Party announced that the police have closed the case against one of its MPs, Toni Bezzina.

The fifth district candidate was under the spotlight of the police’s financial crimes unit for allegedly using government workers for a job at the Zurrieq Nationalist Party club. This alleged incident had taken place in 2012, at a time when the PN was in power. Zurrieq is part of Bezzina’s constituency, and the inference was that he was trying to gain votes.

There also followed libel suits on the alleged incident, with alternate results for Bezzina in cases he instituted against the Prime Minister as well as Labour media.

But the real question that remains is why a case should take so much time to be considered done and dusted.

It was only last April – that is, nine years after the alleged event took place – that Bezzina was called up by the police to be questioned for the first time. He had then said, upon leaving the unit’s premises, that this was a “political frame-up”.

To be fair, a month later the case was considered shut, with the PN saying in a statement that the police had been satisfied by the explanation that had been given. So, in a nutshell, the police took a few weeks to investigate the allegations made and reach a conclusion – but why, then, did it take them so long to start looking into the matter? Would it not have been better for Bezzina to be investigated as soon as the matter came to light?

One understands that the police have another million things to do and, frankly speaking, the Economic Crimes Unit is involved in investigations which are far more serious than the ones Bezzina was allegedly involved in.

In the past months, we have seen the unit charging several prominent personalities with criminal activities that shook the nation. And it does not appear that the investigations are anywhere near their conclusion. So there is no doubt that the police – especially since Angelo Gafa took over as their chief – are carrying out their duties.

But then, it is not clear why it took them nine years to look into Bezzina’s issue. The matter has been in the public domain for several years and, just to remind you, two general elections have been held and we are approaching a third since the incident allegedly took place.

This takes us to the other arm of the justice system in Malta – the law courts, where delays in the handing out of judgements are also a matter of concern. Again, we understand the huge workload that is being carried by the judges and magistrates. We also understand that delays often take place because of the parties’ own procrastination, witnesses who do not turn up and hearings that overlap onto others.

But then, why should cases take so many years for a verdict to be reached? Why should sittings be adjourned to a date which is several months down the line?

The police, and the law courts, are two institutions that need to work faster – and be seen to work faster – for public confidence to increase.