May The Force Be With You – Should Deputy Commissioner Ramon Mercieca Have Attended Rosianne Cutajar’s Party?
A lot has been said about how Deputy Commissioner Ramon Mercieca attended a gender reveal party organised by MP Rosianne Cutajar and her partner Daniel Farrugia and was seen mingling with some of Malta’s big-shots,
While some commended Mercieca for simply enjoying his private affairs, others nibbed at him for lack of professionalism and warned he was breaching standard operating procedures.
Mr. Mercieca joined the force in 2001 and after a tumultuous growing career amidst a promotion of ranks was appointed to Deputy Commissioner in 2021 and is presently responsible for Field and Operational Support.
Mercieca was also involved in the transformation strategy plan devised by Police Commissioner Angelo Gafa in an attempt to give a professional nudge of improvement within the Malta Police Force. This also included the code of ethics and other operating procedures set to be implemented and adhered to by all serving members.
One of the major points that were established and eventually complied with is the integrity of the officers who diligently carry out the service, where in these last years countless factors resulted in officers being asked to resign.
Apart from direct issues in which the individual officer may result to be unfit for purpose, certain personal affairs, delicate friendships and acquaintances amongst an array of other matters conflict with the lives of serving members to the point where it leads to a stressful and stringent life.
Whilst overlooking Mercieca’s attendance to the latter party, issues such as political affinity and the fact that there was alcohol being served, amongst other factors, may well be the reasons why Mercieca’s feat was frowned upon internally, thus resulting in the deputy commissioner to retire on sick leave pending a review of the act itself and a more clear reaction from the commissioner himself.
This is a common practice where officers pending any kind of internal verdict due to infringements will retire on sick leave or get temporary suspension to abstain from dealing with the issue, revealing too much and possibly making matters worse.
The main aim of instilling harsher policies within the Malta Police Force was to try and clean the culture that was rooted deep and almost took hold of the same authority that is supposed to combat and enforce upon present irregularities.
Nevertheless, it’s a known fact that whilst from the outside the police force looks embellished and well-kept, in reality it is heavily corrupted and political interference is very well present.
Indeed, it is present to such an extent that when such interference is either exposed or acted upon, internal odious acts are applied – ie. unreasonable transfers, harassment, internal litigations apart from the fact that the officer in question gets fused in a system of constant vetting for reasons other than those initially suspected of committing.
This leads to the point of asking; Should a police officer irrelevant of rank be let to attend such events and mingle with whoever they please? Should they be free to enjoy their free time and have some measure of leniency towards the joviality of life?
In my opinion, we should all be given our deserved freedom to live as we please, so long as one comprehends the responsibility that his career or position entails and his leisure is kept within limits of not being embarrassing or actually incriminating. The problem of political interference in the police force should be tackled separately.
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