There is always a need for a balance. The country’s institutions must continue to work in the general interest of the public, fulfilling their duties to the best of their abilities, while at the same time playing the role of a cog in the wheels of this country of ours.

But, sometimes, the different cogs have different purposes, with the result that, at least from the outside, there are situations in which these different cogs hinder each other. One is moving left, while the other is pulling towards the right.

In an interview given to The Malta Independent on Sunday, the head of the Malta Police Union spoke specifically of one such situation.

Police officers are demoralised, Marlon Hili said, when court judgments undo all the work that these officers would have accomplished. Some court judgments cancel the impeccable work carried out by the police, he added. It is demotivating when it takes so much time for the police to collect evidence that would eventually lead to a person’s arrest and then the court lets them go so lightly, often without as much as a slap on the wrist. Hili went on to say that there are occasions when people accused of a crime ridicule police officers when they come across each other in the streets after the courts would have set the alleged offenders free.

It must be pointed out that every accused person is innocent until proven guilty, and that the courts must analyse all the evidence brought before them, also taking into account the defence that is mounted by the lawyers representing the people who are charged with a crime.

This is how the system works. And the system is always in favour of the alleged offenders, based on the premise that any guilt must be proven beyond “reasonable doubt”. That is a huge hurdle that the prosecution must overcome, whether it’s for the theft of a bag of sweets or capital murder.

Then again, the frustration expressed by the Malta Police Union chief is understandable. When the police take an accused person before a magistrate or a judge, few realise that they would have spent days and weeks building up their case. Yes, mistakes have been made, and sometimes they could have easily been avoided. But, in most circumstances, the police in their prosecuting role are diligent and careful.

So when the courts dismiss cases, or give judgments that are below the police’s expectations, this is bound to create ill-feeling among the officers who would have worked hard to bring alleged offenders to book. It is easy to understand that, when this happens, police feel that all their work would have been thrown down the drain.

On the other hand, as we said earlier, the courts have their own role to play. It is understandable that second, maybe third or more, chances are given. What is less comprehensible is when the courts appear to be too lenient (and, in rarer occasions, go to the other extreme) in their judgments. This is what irritates the police.

Many times, it’s what irritates the rest of society too.