The police force deserved better, home affairs shadow minister Beppe Fenech Adami said today during a meeting with the Malta Police Association.
During the meeting, Dr Fenech Adami, migration spokesman Francis Zammit Dimech and the MPA representatives discussed the latest development in the force and exchanged ideas of how it could progress.
Reference was made to problems it was facing, including through stories in the media which put the force in a bad light.
Dr Fenech Adami said the force had to work hard to regain the people’s respect and confidence. The challenges it was facing, he said, included a lack of human resources, a lack of investment in new equipment and machinery and a lack of maintenance in police stations.
All this, he said, was leaving an impact on officers’ morale and their work. The introduction of temporary performance agreements for the most senior officers, something the MPA was completely against, was also mentioned.
MPA president Malcolm Bondin said the association, which was now recognised as a union, was this year celebrating its 60th anniversary. It was independent and had no political interests but worked solely in the interest of its members.