Police time better spent on community policing roles, MPA says

Specialised section of the Malta Police Force should be reviewed and updated to reflect national priorities, the Malta Police Association (MPA) has said, holding that society is currently gaining no actual and effective benefit from secondary stations.

In a position paper, the association stated that to this present day, the Malta Police Force has never established its top management capacity requirements. “Thus the MPA proposes that the main sections within the Force and districts are to be established by law together with its management structures.”

Adding that specialised sections should be able to change and evolve parallel to society and should reflect the current population, the MPA said that secondary Police Stations are only serving as information centres for the area where they are situated. “No actual and effective benefit is being gained by society from their use, as opposed to carrying out police core duties,” the association said. “In this sense, the MPA proposes that secondary police stations are either closed or converted into information or civic centres and operated by civilians.”

Under this premise, in order for police officers to contribute more to the community, the MPA suggested that police officers should be engaged instead on active community policing roles, like patrols and inspections, and be more present in the streets, focusing on the protection of the public, crime prevention and rapid response.