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Wages and conditions of Malta’s police force

The wages and conditions of Malta’s police force were thrown back into the spotlight last week when Opposition spokesman Gavin Gulia claimed that officers from the Administrative Law Enforcement section were not being paid overtime to testify in court.

Dr Gulia said the move took away any incentive the police had to apprehend offenders, while also demoralising the officers in general. He also warned that if policemen were being called into court during their normal working hours, they would not be able to do their job so effectively, out on the beat, where they were needed.

MaltaToday asked Home Affairs minister Tonio Borg how he reacted to Dr Gulia’s claims and also for his comments in general on the ongoing reform in the Police Corps.
Home Affairs minister Tonio Borg writes

Dr Gulia’s statement is an exercise in political hypocrisy. Compared with 1998, the pay and net income of any police officer has increased considerably. Although all efforts are made to prevent any abuse of overtime, it is simply not true that overtime payments have been slashed. Naturally attempts are made to contain overtime within the budgetary allocation which is 8% higher than that of the 1998 Budget.

Indeed, the figures show that:
1) Overtime payments for police in the Protective Services Branch (comprising around 200 officers) is at the same level of the Jan-May 2000 period; (Lm29,251 as against Lm29,472).

2) While in 1998 a police sergeant at the Traffic Branch earned Lm460 in one year in overtime, he earned Lm410 in the first five months of this year; a police constable at the same branch earned Lm308 overtime in 12 months in 1998; during the first five months he earned Lm223.

3) Recurrent expenditure for the Police Force as regards wages and salaries, increased by 27% compared with 1998; allowances by 36%.

No measure has been taken to decrease police patrol; measures are taken to prevent overtime payments from going haywire, such as assigning duties to the Law Courts within a police constable’s normal working hours. Although budgetary allocation for overtime is Lm10,000 less than in 2000, it is 8% more than that of 1998 and sufficiently compensated by a Lm200,000 increase in allowances.

As regards the reform within the Police Force, this is an ongoing process.

The government has increased the courses at the Police Academy; the Police Force now requires at least three ‘O’ levels for admission within the Force; it has issued three calls for recruitment for the Force, and the police are to issue a fourth call soon.

Besides this, following the publication of a White Paper in November, the Attorney General’s Office is in the final stages of publishing a Bill with far-reaching amendments to the Criminal Code. These amendments will strengthen the Police Force’s capability to fight crime and grant victims of crime important procedural rights.