Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/984659
17 NEWS maltatoday | SUNDAY • 20 MAY 2018 the minister... everybody con- cerned. If there are damages to be paid out, ordered by the law-courts... the parties would be covered by government in- surance. A doctor's indemnity is covered by government. [...] Each sector has its own risks and particular conditions. If you're a front-desk officer, for instance: it would not be the first time that a front-desk of- ficer has been assaulted. Doc- tors and nurses also face this risk in hospital, and when called out on site. Correctional officers in prison are another category. Even Civil Protection Department officials, some- times. There are many high- risk positions in the public ser- vice. Unfortunately, the police happen to be directly on the front line. It is also unfortunate that they have been portrayed in a negative light by certain segments of society... and this has made them more vulner- able. One effect is that there is less respect towards the police today... This seems to echo the view expressed (or at least, the interpretation of that view) by MEP Marlene Mizzi: who seemed to suggest a connection between this incident, and a growing culture of contempt towards the police in general. Do you agree with that argument? I would say that all ridicule or contempt is wrong. It sends the wrong message. Often this is done unknowingly, or not on purpose. But eventually, even these unintentional remarks can end up in a situation where there are more attacks – even verbal attacks – on the police. We are noticing that there is less respect towards the police in general, and more cases of individual police officers be- ing attacked, both verbally and physically. Now, let me not be misunderstood: I'm not say- ing that what happened last Tuesday was done with the specific intention of harming the Police as a whole. It may have been done to harm that individual person. But that person nonetheless represents the whole Police Force. So, if certain things are done outside the Police Headquarters, for example... I assume you're referring to recent public protests, messages on placards, etc... [Nods] ...it could influence [public perceptions of the po- lice]. The real problem is not what is said or done over there... it is how it might be interpret- ed by whoever is watching it on TV. Let me repeat myself: it would not have been the inten- tion behind what was done... but from the perspective of the people seeing these things on TV, or following them on so- cial media... the message they would be receiving would be interpreted through a different lens from those who are actu- ally imparting it. So when it reaches the recipient, the mes- sage will be a negative reflec- tion on the Police as a whole. Basically, my point is that: let's be a little more cautious in the way we protest... in the things we do... because very often, those things will not be inter- preted exactly how we would want them to be interpreted. So I think it's important – and in fact both the Police and gov- ernment will be assuming this role – to embark on a posi- tive campaign about the Police Force. Not, I stress, so that if there is anything wrong, we pretend that it's right. But so that we inculcate more respect towards the uniform. To play the devil's advocate: the criticism in those 'messages' was specifically that the Police force doesn't always act in a way that is conducive to respect... such as, for instance, when it fails to properly investigate allegations of wrongdoing by people in power. Isn't there a danger that this incident might be exploited to deflect that inconvenient message? One thing I see that is wrong in the message is, for instance, comments which refer to 'the corrupt police'. That's a very crude generalisation, and it comes across badly. In second place: investigations are, in fact, taking place in the back- ground. Before you can pro- ceed in the open, you need to have hard evidence in hand. And there have been cases – not just recently, but even in the remote past – where steps were taken against high- ranking politicians... but got nowhere, because there wasn't enough evidence for the per- son concerned to be found guilty. If you rush things – in any case: it could be political, or non-political – and pro- ceed against someone without enough proof... for one thing, all that work you've done will go to waste, because he will be acquitted. And in such cases, it might even be said that the police acted too quickly, and proceeded without proof, on purpose to get the suspect ac- quitted. So yes, you do need to move quickly: but not so quickly, that you end up ar- raigning people without suf- ficient proof for a conviction. Otherwise, you'll only end up being scolded by the courts for wasting their time... and quite rightly, too. Coming back to this apparent 'culture of disrespect': we often read news items about people accused of serious crimes, but getting away with very lenient (often suspended) sentences... so even if the police themselves took action, the end result is still a perception that people will always get let off lightly, no matter what. Does this contribute to an erosion of respect for the forces of law and order in general? I think the successes that the police have been registering – especially in the past year and a half – in the fight against or- ganised crime have been high- er than ever before... Not everyone would agree with that... Look at the amount of drugs apprehended by the police in the past year alone. Also, there were two cases of car- bombs – or attempted car- bombs – where the suspects were identified and arrested; in some cases where more than one perpetrator was caught. There are other cases that are still being investigated, such as that of Daphne [Caruana Galizia]. That investigation is still underway: Europol is still involved. The one million euro reward still stands, in the hope that more people will step for- ward with what they know... I've heard a rumour that the three arrests made were, in fact, down to that reward offer. That's not the case? I heard that rumour too. No. Those people were arrested thanks to the hard work of the police, the Security Ser- vices, etc, together with for- eign experts. But most of the substantive work was done by local investigators. As was the case, in its totality, for the failed Fgura car bomb [in January]. The Security Ser- vices and police worked hand in glove, and managed to solve that case in a few weeks. There have been certain suc- cesses that might even help resolve earlier cases, some going back years. In fact, a lot of this work is ongoing, even if not all of it gets reported by the media. But the police do take action, and do register considerable successes. The latest reports indicate that, for the third consecutive year, there has been stability in the number of criminal cases reported to the police. This is significant, when viewed in the context of the grow- ing population, and the in- crease in tourism each year. One would have expected the crime rates to grow, but in- stead they have remained sta- ble. This gives us an indica- tion of all the hard work done by the Malta Police Force.