Police must ‘earn people's trust’

The police are responsible for earning the trust of the people they serve, Home Affairs Minister Manuel Mallia said. This is part of his strategy for communal policing.

“People should feel assured that they are safe when they see police in the streets and the police should truly know who the people in the locality they serve are,” Mallia told the 113 new police recruits. “The police are responsible for improving this relationship of trust. Every policeman who is caught doing something wrong will weaken this relationship.”

The new police recruits will all be assigned to police stations.

“We need to give specific attention to localities, particularly since crime has increased in recent months,” Mallia said. “Thanks to these new recruits, 26 policemen will now be added to the stations in Sliema, St Julians, Paceville, Gzira, Msida, San Gwann, and Swieqi.”

Mallia also said that the government wants to upgrade the Police Academy into a Police College complete with full-time teachers.

“Police will be able to receive qualifications that are equivalent to other Maltese educational institutions,” Mallia said. 

He also added that police training will soon re-commence in an updated form after it was temporarily suspended.