Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1471185
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 19 JUNE 2022 9 INTERVIEW to the policemen who risked their own lives – and the lives of their colleagues – to bring that person to trial in the first place? So far, you have very clearly explained why the Malta Po- lice Union was so incensed this decision; but – to return to my original question – does that really add up to a resignation matter? Isn't it more a case that you yourself disagree with that decision, for 'personal' – albeit entirely understandable -rea- sons? There is nothing 'personal' about it… I meant it only in the sense that the MPU represents the Police Force, and this was a crime against the police… Even so: the reasons we are calling for the AG's resigna- tion have nothing to do with the person occupying the role. We would be saying exactly the same for any other individual; or even any other office, if the de- cision had been taken at another level. It is simply because we that we think that the decision itself was a grave mistake, which will have serious consequences in future. And if we're asking the AG to resign, it's because there is no other way to remedy the situa- tion. You cannot ask for 'com- pensation', in a case like this… But I feel I have to stress that… what we are asking for, is the AG to resign. We are not asking for her to removed from office: by the minister, or anyone else. We understand that the AG has security of tenure; and can only be removed by two-thirds Parliamentary majority. And we agree with all this, because the Attorney General is an impor- tant office in the country. But it was the Attorney Gen- eral who took this decision; so we feel that the only way for responsibility to be shouldered, in this case, is for the same At- torney General to now take the decision to resign… Meanwhile, there have also been calls – not coming from the MPU, this time - for the resignation of Police Commis- sioner Angelo Gafa. Let's just say that some people are not satisfied with the pace of im- provement within the Police Force, in the two years since he took over. Isn't it true that – after all the fanfare with which he was heralded, as the 'man who would restore public confidence in the Force' – Gafa has been something of a disap- pointment, ever since? It could well be that some people see it that way, because – let's face it – the expectations were very high. Where most people are expected to deliver '100', the Commissioner was given a target of '2000'… and when he reached '98', we crit- icized him for 'not delivering enough'. Now: I can't comment on how much he has actually delivered, when it comes to 'restoring confidence in the Force': not because I have no interest in the matter – obviously, both as a policeman, and as a citizen, I would like to see the public served by a better, more effec- tive Police Force. But on behalf of the Union, my concern is with the Force's conditions of work; because I believe that, in order to deliver a better service, the individual police officers need to be 'content' in their work. To put that another way: the general public might not be in- terested in the Police's salary, or work conditions. What they want – quite rightly – is that when they have need of the po- lice, they find that (at minimum) the police stations are open. My concern, however, is that those police stations should be 'open', not just for the sake of it... but because the police officers man- ning them, are enthusiastic about doing their job. And from that perspective, what I can say is that there have been a lot of changes in the past two years: in terms of policy; work practices; shifts, and work hours; the rules governing things like 'extra duty', and so on… ba- sically, things which are invisible to the general public; but which do make a significant difference, from our perspective. Obviously, it doesn't mean that there aren't still problems. Police morale, for instance, still remains low… in fact, I would even say that it has deteriorated, in the 23 years I have been in the Corps. But I do feel that, when it comes to the performance of the Police Commissioner, peo- ple expected 'too much, too quickly'. I'm not saying they are wrong to feel that way: but these ex- pectations were never very re- alistic, to begin with: especially when you consider that some of the individual criminal cases - that some people expect to be 'solved', literally from one day to the next - are not exactly simple and straight-forward… You seem to be suggesting that these 'unrealistic public expec- tations' are not limited only to Police Commissioner Angelo Gafa himself, but extended to the Police Force as a whole. Is that correct? And if so, is it part of what is causing police mo- rale to decline? Well… to be honest, there has always been a certain amount of 'grumbling' within the Police Force. When I first joined the Union, for instance, it was dur- ing the time of [former Com- missioner] John Rizzo. Back then, the issues were actually much more serious, than they are today. We were fighting for some of the most basic workers' rights, in fact. So things have certainly im- proved since then; and some of that improvement has been re- flected in the Police's communi- ty relations. The establishment of 'Community Policing Teams' – even if only in a few localities, so far – has already made a dif- ference. All in all, I would say that the service provided by the Police to the community has, in fact, improved a lot in recent years. But to answer your question: yes, up to a point. Today, po- licemen feel almost as though they have become a 'machine', expected to perform at all times, and at all costs. Now: I have to be careful how to say this, be- cause – as a Union – we under- stand the importance of being able to rely on a prompt and efficient Police force. It is, af- ter all, a service paid for by the tax-payer (including myself, first and foremost). But it doesn't mean that po- licemen should be expected to perform, beyond all reasonable limits. When people call the po- lice, for instance… they expect that a policeman will turn up on the spot, in just a few moments. But to get from 'A' to 'B'… po- licemen need a car. They are also required, by law, to equip a 'body-cam'; but there aren't enough body-cams to go round, which in practice means that they have to drive from (for in- stance) Swieqi to St Julian's, to pick one up; only to then drive back to Swieqi, to attend to the original call. Or, even worse, if they are sta- tioned on Comino… they have to first go to Rabat, Gozo, to pick up the body-cam; and then, when their shift is over, they have to go all the way back to Rabat – in their own time, and in their own car – to take it back. On a separate note: police al- so need air-conditioning in the work-place – among other basic necessities - if they are expected to perform 100%, from start to finish of a 12-hour shift. Now: I admit that these con- cerns (and I could mention many more) may not seem all that important, to the man in the street. And in case I am be- ing misunderstood: I am not suggesting that they should be used as an excuse to justify 'un- der-performance' by the police, either. It doesn't mean that the police should be content to de- liver only 80, or 70%... What we are saying, however, is that we do have to address these very basic, work-place problems first… before we can ever talk about the police de- livering the '100%' (if not 110%) that is expected of them.