Enforcement remains Malta's greatest weakness despite years of economic growth, newly appointed PN MP and Shadow Minister for Home Affairs Conrad Borg Manché said, arguing that stronger policing, more visible law enforcement and a more effective justice system must become national priorities.
Having spent years in local government before entering Parliament after the general election, Borg Manché spoke to The Malta Independent about his new role as the Nationalist Party's Shadow Minister for Home Affairs.
Entrusted with shadowing one of the broadest portfolios, covering the police, immigration, prisons, civil protection and the Armed Forces of Malta, Borg Manché said he believes the country's biggest challenge is not a lack of legislation, but a persistent failure to enforce the laws already in place.
"The biggest problem that we have is enforcement. When you grow the economy, everything else that comes with it also grows. That's the most logical thing that happens. But where enforcement is concerned, I believe we are still a hundred years behind," he said.
He said that the recent increase in the number of irregular migrants being apprehended raised important questions about how the system had functioned previously.
"Suddenly we are seeing many people being repatriated. What was happening before? These people did not just appear overnight. In a country as small as Malta, we should not be discovering hundreds of people living here illegally without asking how they entered the country in the first place."
Borg Manché said the fact that so many irregular migrants continued to be found suggested that improvements were clearly needed.
"There is certainly something that needs fixing. My role now is to understand exactly where those shortcomings lie."
He insisted that his approach as Shadow Minister would not be based solely on criticising the government.
"I am ready to work with the Minister because, at the end of the day, my priority is not to make myself look good but to ensure that the Maltese people benefit from the work I do and from the work carried out by the Minister. I am prepared to help and work together where necessary," he said.
Borg Manché said that he had already spoken to Police Commissioner Angelo Gafà, saying the Commissioner had told him he was looking forward to "constructive criticism."
"It won't only be constructive criticism. I want us to work together to improve the areas that need improving."
Asked whether he had confidence in Gafà's leadership, Borg Manché stopped short of giving either an endorsement or criticism, explaining that he first wanted to familiarise himself with the realities of the portfolio.
"To be honest, I am not yet sufficiently informed to say exactly what he is doing well and what he is doing badly. I want to discuss matters with him first so I can better understand where improvements are needed. If I believe something can be improved, I will put forward my own ideas," he said.
'Police need to be out on the streets'
Drawing on his nine years as Mayor of Gżira, Borg Manché said local government had given him first-hand experience of the challenges facing frontline policing.
"I know where many of the shortcomings are because I lived through them."
He recalled long periods during which one of Malta's most densely populated localities was left without a regular police presence despite experiencing significant population growth and a large foreign community.
"We went for a very long time without a police station in one of the country's busiest localities. There is noise, there are drugs and many other issues, and the officers from Sliema simply could not cope on their own," he said.
Borg Manché said that there needs to be a visible presence capable of preventing offences before they happen.
"Presence is extremely important. If you travel abroad, for example to Paris, you constantly see police officers on patrol. I am not suggesting we create a police state, but people need to know that law enforcement is present," he said, adding that during his years in local government routine patrols were rarely seen.
"Before community policing was introduced, I hardly ever saw officers walking through the streets or carrying out regular patrols. The only police presence was at fixed points."
He said he believed more officers should be deployed on the streets rather than behind desks performing administrative duties.
"If officers are spending their time doing administrative work, then employ administrative staff to carry out those tasks. Police officers should be outside because their visibility discourages people from breaking the law and, ultimately, reduces pressure on the courts as well," he said.
Borg Manché said that reforms should focus not only on improving efficiency but also on ensuring that innocent people are not unnecessarily deprived of their liberty.
Referring to allegations surrounding prison security and claims of surveillance in lawyers' meeting rooms, he said the wider issue was one of abuse of power.
"I think everyone knows there have been many abuses. There has been abuse of power and, unfortunately, I would even say by certain police officers themselves."
'Justice system needs reform'
Drawing on his experience as a practising lawyer, Borg Manché said he had repeatedly witnessed situations in court which he believed highlighted flaws in the criminal justice process.
"I spend a lot of time in court and I see these abuses. I even mentioned one in a recent post about my own case."
"Take a situation where both the husband and the wife file reports. The husband is arraigned, while his report is ignored, and he is sent to prison until the alleged victim testifies. Yet if you look at the photographs of the injuries, she had almost nothing, while he was covered in bruises and scratches."
He said he had recently discussed such situations with a police inspector who told him he would not arraign someone before the alleged victim had testified, adding that he believed this was the correct approach.
"You should not arraign someone who may already have mental health problems and then throw them into prison for a week. That person could end up breaking down mentally while locked up in those conditions, knowing they are innocent."
While stressing that offenders should face the consequences of their actions, he said that innocent people could suffer irreversible harm when procedures were not applied fairly.
"If someone has genuinely committed an offence, then they deserve the consequences. But when the person is actually the victim and is still sent to prison, it can destroy them mentally. It seems as though nobody really cares about that, and that is something that has always deeply bothered me."
Borg Manché said reforms were also needed in the way courts handle arraignments, maintaining that alleged victims should testify immediately rather than forcing accused persons to remain in custody while awaiting evidence.
"If someone is arrested and arraigned, the parte civile should testify immediately. Why should someone spend a week in prison for no reason while waiting for the parte civile to testify? To me, that is abusive."
He also criticised the financial burden placed on defendants who are ultimately granted bail only after spending days in custody, saying many people simply cannot afford the legal costs involved.
The same applies to maintenance calculations in the Family Court. Borg Manche said that they are often calculated arbitrarily, without properly examining how much someone earns, what the children's actual expenses are and what they can realistically afford.
"Someone may simply be ordered to pay €400 monthly without any detailed assessment. That can cripple a person financially if they do not earn enough to pay rent and support themselves. Everything should be calculated properly, sensibly and based on the facts, not on rough estimates," he said.
'It is easier to buy cocaine than water'
Turning to drug crime, Borg Manché agreed with recent comments made by fellow PN MP Beppe Fenech Adami that cocaine had become alarmingly widespread in Malta, insisting that while he had confidence in officers working in the Police Force's anti-drug squads, the scale of the problem could no longer be ignored.
"I know inspectors working in that field who, in my opinion, do an excellent job, but the reality is that today it is easier to buy cocaine than it is to buy water."
He argued that statistics were often used to minimise the extent of the problem.
"Sometimes ministers rely on statistics and claim that only around 580 people use cocaine in Malta. I honestly believe the real number is far higher than that. They try to downplay the problem. They rely on percentages and statistics to make it appear that everything is under control. But sometimes you simply need to open your eyes. You do not always need statistics to see what is happening around you. The truth is that Malta has a very serious drug problem."
Borg Manché said he had previously warned Prime Minister Robert Abela about the scale of the issue and again criticised the legalisation of cannabis, saying it had sent the wrong message.
"With the cannabis law, we sent the message that drug use is acceptable. Synthetic drugs are destroying people's lives. People are losing their minds because of them. Instead, we should be promoting healthy lifestyles rather than pretending the problem does not exist."
While calling for stronger enforcement against organised crime, he also insisted that addiction should primarily be treated as a health issue.
"Given today's pressures and the environment people are living in, it is very easy for someone to become addicted. Many people turn to drugs to escape their problems."
He praised organisations such as Caritas and OASI for the work they carry out in rehabilitation, saying government should study successful international models and invest further in helping people recover from addiction.
"They are human beings like everyone else, and we need to help them overcome these addictions."
'Emergency services must keep pace with development'
Borg Manché was also asked whether Malta's emergency services were adequately equipped to respond to the country's growing number of high-rise developments.
While recalling several incidents he had dealt with during his years as Mayor of Gżira, he said his experience suggested the Civil Protection Department possessed significant equipment, although he questioned whether existing resources remained sufficient for the scale of development taking place today.
"I remember another incident involving scaffolding that was on the verge of collapsing. I immediately phoned the authorities and they brought a huge truck unlike anything I had ever seen before. The officer even told me it was the first time that particular truck had ever been deployed."
He said buildings themselves should also be designed with emergency response in mind.
"Ideally, buildings should be constructed in such a way that you do not need an extremely tall tower ladder to deal with emergencies. Buildings themselves should be designed to minimise these risks."
At the same time, he acknowledged that Malta's rapid population growth inevitably required authorities to continually reassess whether emergency services possessed enough personnel and equipment to respond effectively.
"They certainly have equipment. Whether it is sufficient for today's high-rise developments is something that still needs to be evaluated. I honestly do not know."
Having only recently entered Parliament, Borg Manché said he intended to spend the coming months studying every aspect of his new portfolio in detail before proposing reforms, but maintained that his approach would remain centred on constructiveness rather than political point-scoring.
"I am ready to work with anyone if it means improving the country. At the end of the day, I don't want to look good myself - I want the Maltese people to benefit from the work we do."
The first part of the interview was carried yesterday