20 hunting enforcement officers transferred

Despite a previous denial by the home affairs ministry, ustice minister Owen Bonnici today said that 20 members of the Administrative Law Enforcement (ALE) police unit have been transferred since March 2013.

Answering a parliamentary question by opposition MP Jason Azzopardi, Bonnici explained that following the March 2013 election 20 members of the ALE were transferred to a number of different departments.

In September, MaltaToday had revealed that at least 10 officers were transferred within the corps for a number of reasons, including what sources described as “political reasons.”

However, a home affairs ministry spokesperson had denied this and said the information was “incorrect.”
 

In reply to a number of questions about the transfers, the spokesperson said that only two ALE members were transferred “because the exigencies of the Police Corps dictated that they were needed elsewhere.Answering on behalf of home affairs minister Manuel Mallia who was not present in Parliament, Bonnici said that among others the officers were transferred to the EU’s Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo and the President’s office.

Bonnici explained that since March 2013, 25 police officers were transferred to the ALE and asked by Azzopardi from which units these officers were transferred the minister said that these were moved from the police garage, the security services, the CID, district stations, the Rapid Intervention Unit and the drug squad.

Moreover, a number of former officers who were reinstated also joined the ALE.

In March 2013, the ALE was made up of 26 officers and the number has now increased to 31. During the hunting seasons the number of officers is incremented by district officers.