A Two-Way Street: Malta Sent Police Officers To France Before Hosting Italians

There has been some controversy over the news that eight Italian police officers will assist Maltese police with certain patrols this summer.
However, what some people may not realise is that four Maltese police officers were deployed to a similar operation in France only a month ago.
Following a request by the French national police, PS Carlos Farrugia, PS Christian Bonello, PC Jurgen Portelli and PC Omar Sharif assisted in a security operation at a UN conference.
The four Maltese officers took part in traffic control, crowd control, and searches on suspicious individuals. They also assisted in a bomb threat and a traffic accident, and one of the officers assisted the French police in a case related to cannabis trafficking.
It was essentially a police ‘exchange’ programme, an opportunity for police officers from different European countries to help and learn from each other.
The agreement for Italian police officers to assist in Maltese patrols this summer is similar in scope.
Stemming from a memorandum of understanding that was signed last December, Italian police officers will assist Maltese officers in joint patrols in St Julian’s and Valletta this summer.
They will be unarmed and hold no executive powers, but will support the Maltese police by facilitating communication with Italian tourists and assisting with information sharing when needed.
The police are insisting that this isn’t a desperate move due to a lack of resources but rather a strategy to promote international cooperation and community policing and modernise approaches to public safety.
“This is a significant step forward in terms of bilateral cooperation in law enforcement, as well as joint commitment towards the rule of law, human rights, and protection of citizens and tourists,” the police said.
“This agreement will serve as a model of effective international collaboration to confront the complex modern challenges of security.”