Editorial

The Valletta police station and two officers were on Sunday rewarded for their achievements in the fight against crime. Reported crime in the Valletta district dropped by 32 per cent in 2009 over the previous year. Police constables Paul Spiteri and Charlton Falzon Cascun were commended for the outstanding contribution to the Malta Police Force, one of the oldest in Europe.

Police officers constantly perform heroic acts in their day-to-day work. Yet, most of the time they remain unsung heroes. Thus, ceremonies as last Sunday's serve to remind us all of the efforts, often at great personal risk, police officers make in the line of duty, and even beyond, to protect society.

Policemen deserve such public commendation not only because they can do with a moral boost but, more so, as a tangible and well-deserved sign of gratitude. There are other ways society can express its appreciation. Improved conditions of work and salaries is one example but what would certainly be of mutual benefit would be enhanced respect and cooperation.

Given that human nature is what it is, the few bad elements within the force tend to overshadow the loyal and dedicated officers, who, certainly, constitute the big bulk of the corps. Recent cases that came to light, including arraignments and convictions, throw a bad light on the Police Force and its reputation suffers as a result.

Police Commissioner John Rizzo told The Sunday Times a few weeks ago his mission is to rebuild the corps' reputation tarnished by the allegations made.

"We're trying to tackle people's criticism because this is where I fear we're failing as police. You have some 2,000 'ambassadors' out there and their behaviour reflects on the force. One of my priorities is to improve the image, but it's not easy," Mr Rizzo admitted in his interview with The Sunday Times.

One sure way of addressing the problem would be by bringing the police and the people closer to each other. The British Home Secretary of the early 1880s, Sir Robert Peel, had enunciated his central notion that "the police are the public and the public are the police". The police, he wrote, are only members of the public who are "paid to give full-time attention to duties incumbent on every citizen". British policemen are known as "bobbies" after Sir Robert.

Having as many police officers on foot patrol as possible would be a very good start. However, in today's world, the best tool one could possibly employ would be good and effective public relations. The police have a Community and Media Relations Unit, which is striving hard to do the best possible job in the circumstances. However, it is evidently overworked and under-staffed, presumably also working within a structure that is somewhat top-heavy.

Unless changes are made, Mr Rizzo's mission to improve the force's image will be a truly gargantuan, not to say impossible, task.

Perhaps it is time to have one office dealing with the organisation of public events and handling requests for information by the public and another focused exclusively on the media. The second proposed office, but, possibly, even the first, should be headed by a civilian with experience and knowledge of the media and answerable only to the Police Commissioner. There have been other instances in the Police Force's history when certain duties were passed on to civilians, with a degree of resistance initially from the men in uniform, but then things worked out well.

The police ought to give it a try.