I’m tired of reading newspaper coverages of victims dismissed by the police for the latter’s lack of knowledge of basic Civil Law concepts. As a practitioner, I also have the misfortune of encountering such horror stories straight from the cases I’m working on.

I’m not asking for officers to have a doctorate in the subject, just the most basic working knowledge that ensures the victim’s access to justice. And a different approach to police-public relations as well. Why we’re still battling this in 2023 is beyond me.

I suppose it boils down to the “us vs them” mentality within police culture: anything that does not pertain to the criminal justice sphere is demonized when it shouldn’t. Civil Law is frequently portrayed as a Dickensian villain rather than as the access to justice that it really is, and this is not a sweeping statement.

I’ve heard a few howler stories from stunned lawyers recounting how police officers often torpedoed court decrees and judgements as “not being good enough”, to calling legal letters “biċċa karta”, or quoting obsolete legal concepts. One such misconception is that victims “lose everything, even the house” if they leave the matrimonial or cohabitation home when faced with a threat to life or limb within the domestic setting.

Government can create as many Commissariats and Support Agencies as it likes and wave specific Convention flags fervently, but if the first line of defence remains assiduously tone deaf, there’s a problem, Houston.

Incidentally, the UK College of Policing is replacing the DASH tool as a 2023 objective. The Domestic Abuse, Stalking and Honour-based violence questionnaire, which is also used in Malta, is being substituted with DARA – Domestic Abuse Risk Assessment. I’m sure it’s worth looking into.

But it’s not just an issue cropping up exclusively within the domestic violence (DV) domain. It is interesting that the Police Act lists as one of its objectives, “to promote the orderly and peaceful coexistence of all persons in Malta, paying due attention not only to private property rights but also to public property.” Look at article 4d of the 2017 version of Chapter 164. Article 4 was copied tale quale from the previous Police Act, and it was Strategy and Planning’s flagship when it was set up and headed by an Assistant Commissioner in the late 90s.

What are the ‘private property rights’ that the Police need to be aware of? Trainee inspectors are given a study-unit by the Faculty of Laws in basic civil law principles and another in prolegomena, and this has been the practice for the past decade. There is already a body of work prepared and used by Faculty academics that can be expanded to inform and educate any other rank, if only police administration takes notice.

I would suggest a very simple way forward: look at each police district and extrapolate what are the main civil law issues from a basic evaluation of the landscape – is it predominantly rural? Coastal? Urban? Commercial? Are the village cores replete with edifices that pre-date certain rent laws? Is there any social housing that gives potential rise to eviction orders? Are there agricultural issues related to rural leases that trigger disputes between owners? Or conflicts over servitudes? There were homicides in the past that started from a basic civil dispute and escalated because most farmers tended to be registered hunters and owned shotguns. There’s a fine line between policing and civil matters that cannot be ignored.

There are other lacking basics such as the ability to read separation or cohabitation contracts, or a testamentary will.

Prolegomena is the science of the law, which includes ways of drafting and of legal interpretation. It’s the introduction to the legal language and outlook that is lacking in police training, and it comes across often as a deficiency in the emotional intelligence needed to handle legal issues correctly. It affects the preparation of officers for court. Remember that a prosecuting officer is an “officer of the court” according to article 85 of the Police Act.

If Community Police Officers can do an environmental audit and come up with the best crime prevention ideas that suit the locality, then why not apply the same approach to civil matters? Take stock of what the topography of the district presents and start with that scenario as the point of departure. There’s an interesting geography of civil law that deserves exploring. Set up a structure, complete with internal manuals and a backup legal team such as the Prosecutions Unit that can answer any further questions.

Start anywhere, but please stop sitting on the fence. I hope it’s not, yet again, the usual excuse of slashing funding for political reasons, or hidden personal turf wars that are keeping proper legal training from becoming the police norm.