Police officers are demoralised by some court sentences, as they feel that the judgments undo all the work that they would have accomplished, Malta Police union chairperson Marlon Hili said.

In an interview with The Malta Independent on Sunday, Hili said that the union understands the pressure faced by the courts to give people second chances, but police officers believe that at times the courts are too lenient.

He said that some court judgments cancel the “impeccable” work carried out by the police force and in turn demoralise the officers.

Hili said that sometimes the officers themselves can predict the outcome of a case before it is presented before the courts.

“Sometimes when we are doing the job itself (building the case, evidence, arresting people, and so on) we already know that 99.9% it is going down the drain,” he said.

It is demotivating when it takes so much time for the police to collect evidence that would lead to someone’s arrest and then, barely days later, they turn up at a police station to sign the bail-book after the courts would have let them off lightly.

“There is something clearly not working (in the justice system) when I arrest someone today and a week later they come (to the police station) to sign the bail book, or else are acquitted,” he said. It is not the first time that people who are accused of a crime ridicule police officers when they come across each other in the streets after the courts would have set the offenders free.

Hili said that he does not think “that the true work of the police is being respected”. He said that in general, in the 17 years he has been in service, he saw a decline in the respect shown to police officers.

Asked whether the new uniform played a role in this, he said that “if people don’t like it, it is not the uniform that is going to give them a service”. The police administration has received complaints about the hat that the officers need to wear and that “it is taking care of it”.

In comparing the previous uniform to what it is now, Hili said that the union believes that the uniform is great but that the cap should be neater.

He added that the previous “peaked cap also showed the different police rankings. Now you cannot tell unless you know the person”.

Additionally, he said that the new uniform looks good on a fit figure. Asked about how some police officers, once employed, don’t keep the fitness requirements which were needed to enter the police force, he said that it should come from the police administration to encourage it.

He said that it is in the best interest of the police force for the corps to have a good image.

Delving into why the police force is important, Hili said that even in the simplest of police tasks, such as clearing a town square from traffic, if it weren’t for them “their absence would be felt”.

Hili said that the Malta Police union has “long been forgotten” when it comes to government entities. However, their relationship with the current police administration has improved in the past months.

In 2022, the Malta Police Union had filed a Constitutional court case to obtain full Collective Bargaining and Action Rights. In a statement, the union had said that it was always, and will remain at the forefront to do whatever is needed to obtain rights for its members, including the possibility of strike action.

In giving an update about the case, the union chairperson said another hearing is expected later this year.

“If such rights are ever given, I highly doubt I will be able to enjoy them,” said Hili, who has eight years of service left before he is entitled to a full police pension.

He said that no one would like for the police to go on strike, however apart from the lack of such rights being unconstitutional, such rights are needed for the union to be able “to stand up for itself”.

Zeroing on the upcoming sectorial agreement, Hili said that the union and the Police Officers’ Union (another union which represents police officers) have drafted several proposals, which have already been presented to the government’s administration.

Without giving much detail about the proposals, he said that the aim in drafting them represents the union’s interest in increasing the number of police officers recruited and also in keeping the ones already within the police force.

He said that what is being proposed is that wages reflect both the ranking and the years of service a policeman would have given up until then.

He said that the number of new police officers being recruited is still low when compared to the needs, but believes that if the proposals being made are taken up, a job in the police force would become more attractive.

Moreover, he said that currently many people would rather take a better paying job than entering the police force, as apart from providing more financial security, such jobs come with a less stressful environment.

Last year the union had also blasted the state of the St Julian’s and Valletta police stations – which are among the busiest. In giving an update on the situation, Hili said that authorities already have plans for remodelling, but there are logistical problems that need to be sorted out, such as finding an alternative place until the necessary work is being carried out.

As per 2019 Eurostat data, Malta has the second highest police officers per capita. In 2016, there were 505 police officers for every 100,000 people, according to Eurostat. Malta's per capita rate is significantly greater than the EU average of 318 officers, and is only surpassed by Cyprus, which has 573 policemen per 100,000 inhabitants.

Commenting on this, Hili said that although numbers are promising, there are situations which differ from country to country.

For example, community policing in some countries is not taken care by the police but by an independent institution whereas, in Malta, the job is carried out by police officers.