All Malta’s ‘Main’ Police Stations Will Remain Open 24/7, Minister Pledges
Malta’s “main” police stations will remain open on a 24/7 basis irrespective of plans to beef up community policing around the island, Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri has pledged.
“The strategy regarding police stations is not solely linked to the Community Policing project,” a spokesperson for Camilleri told Lovin Malta. “It must be said that all the main police stations will remain open 24/7 irrespective whether community policing is present in the locality or not. These police stations are there to service an area and not only the locality they are situated in.”
“Mayors and local councils in such localities have praised the impact this project has had as community policing has also increased efficiency in dealing with the locality’s challenges.”
Community policing was piloted in Mellieħa last year and has since expanded to five other teams – Valletta/Floriana, Marsaxlokk/Birżebbuġa, Rabat/Dingli/Mtarfa/Mdina, Fgura and Swieqi/Pembroke.
In its Budget for 2021, the government pledged to expand it to the more “challenging” areas of Marsa, Ħamrun, St Paul’s Bay and St Julian’s.
Community police officers are out on the beat throughout their shift and the public have been given their personal mobile numbers in case they need help. While they’re on duty, officers don’t only enforce the law but also lending a helping hand to residents, including some heartwarming acts of kindness.
Valletta community police officer Jan Saliba spent a morning sheltering students from the rain as he walked them from their parents’ cars to school and Pembroke officer Isaac Schembri delivered chocolates to a boy who got run over outside his school and promised to help him cross the road.
While the scheme has been widely lauded as a roaring success, some questions have been raised in the town where it all began, seeing as the launch of community policing has coincided with the permanent closure of the police station.
Mellieħa's police station has been permanently shut down (Photo: Malta Police Force)
This has left Mellieħa without any physical police presence at night, once the shifts of the town’s community officers end.
Opposition MP and former Mellieħa mayor Robert Cutajar has launched a petition calling for the police station to be open 24/7, while councillor Ivan Castillo has linked the closure of the station to a spike in vandalism.
Questioned about this, Byron Camilleri pledged that his Ministry and the Malta Police will be in contact with the Mellieħa local council in the coming weeks to discuss how to strengthen the concept of community policing in the locality.
“It must be clearly stated that today’s police presence is far greater than it was in the past. In fact, it has been proven that the increased police presence of police in the streets has not only lead to more trust but also more work being done and more people being assisted,” he said.
“One must also note that the services provided by community policing in Mellieħa are further supported by other branches of the police force. Additional patrols are carried out by the RIU and other sections when required.”
Meanwhile, the police is encouraging the public to report crimes remotely and to call 112 in case of an emergecny.
What do you make of community policing so far?
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