Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1492662
4 NEWS maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 15 FEBRUARY 2023 4 NEWS VALLETTA has been chosen by Spanish-speaking cruisers as the Best Port of Call Global, an honour which was announced during Pre- mios Cruceroadicto 2022 held dur- ing FITUR Madrid 2023 in January. These awards are the result of an international cruise satisfaction survey taken by the growing com- munity of Spanish-speaking cruise travellers, who had the opportunity to voice their favourite cruise line, ship and port experiences during the past year, along with the reason behind their choices. The voting process consisted of a transparent methodology which enabled travellers to have the last word based on their personal expe- riences, with the process relying on an elaborate automated system that determined the final award-winning categories. To ensure total objectivity and cleanliness of the results, the en- tire process was independently su- pervised by consulting firm We-iN which participated as the methodo- logical and technological partner for the voting, selection of the finalists and proclamation of the winners. "In 2022 Valletta Cruise Port welcomed over 529,000 passenger movements with 35,000 passen- ger movements coming specifically from Spain not to mention other Spanish-speaking guests hailing from other countries," Stephen Xuereb, COO of Global Ports Hold- ing and CEO of Valletta Cruise Port said. "It is indeed a pleasure to see our guests recognising Valletta Cruise Port's efforts together with those of other key stakeholders in making their visit to our city a memorable experience. As part of the Global Ports Holding network our trajecto- ry is not only one of growth, but one of ensuring operational excellence." Valletta Cruise Port recognised as 'Global Best Port of Call' Maltese police 'viewed positively' but majority have moderate trust in force MATTHEW VELLA THE Maltese police is viewed positively by over half the Maltese nation, accord- ing to a perceptions survey carried out by the National Statistics Office among 1,553 respondents. 55.3% said they had a very positive or positive opinion, contrasted with 8.7% having a negative/very negative opinion – but 35.8% expressed neither opinion. Indeed, 45.1% said they had a "moderate" level of trust, with 9.7% saying they trust- ed the police slightly or not at all. 36.5% said they had a "high" trust of police and 8.4% said their trust was "extreme". Half of those who said they had high trust, perceived the police as acting with fairness, dignity and respect: 40.2% said their presence is felt, and 31.5% said the police acted when called. Respondents who do not fully trust the police said the police are never around (27.6%) while 24.5% said the police do not act with fairness, dignity and respect, and 19.4% said the police failed to act or re- spond when called. Respondents were also asked about their perceptions of the police on specific char- acteristics ranging from integrity to im- partiality. 59.6% perceived it to have a high level of integrity against 27.1% who neither agreed nor disagreed with this proposition. 68.5% saw them as providing a professional level of service and 54.1% as impartial enforcers of the law. Those who neither agreed nor disa- greed with the professionalism of the po- lice made up 22% and those who neither agreed nor disagreed with the impartiality of the police accounted for 30%. Experiences with the police Nearly one-third (32.7%) had some type of contact with the police force in the last year, such as lodging a report, being in- volved in an accident, being questioned, being stopped during a police inspection, issued a fine by a police officer, and others. Two-thirds rated their experience as good or very good, while 18.2% rated it as bad or very bad. 14.8% rated their experience had been neither good nor bad. 80% said they would prefer more visibil- ity of police officers on the road and 18% were in favour of access to a nearer police station. Over two-thirds of the population said they were aware of Community Polic- ing Teams (CPT), although extent of this awareness varied according to the regions where community policing is implement- ed and the regions where it has not been rolled out yet.