A police union is calling for the introduction of body and dashboard cameras in a bid to help enforcement efforts against traffic violations and deter abusive behaviour against officers on patrol.

POU president police inspector Sandro Camilleri.

Inspector Sandro Camilleri, president of the Police Officers Union, made this appeal in the wake of the recent debate stoked by footage published online by the Times of Malta, which showed scores of motorists in Msida acting with impunity.

The 30-minute exercise exposed numerous cases of drivers blatantly flouting the law by using their mobile phones, putting themselves and others at risk. Such offences are still being committed despite official data showing that each month an average 2,000 motorists are being fined €100 for using their mobile phone while driving.

In his reaction the POU president rejected claims that officers were turning a blind eye to such abuses.

Drivers are sending text messages or communicating on Facebook while driving

“More often than not we are being criticised by motorists for adopting a merciless attitude and that we are turning Malta into a police state, when in reality officers are increasingly facing verbal and physical abuse for doing their job,” he said.

Mr Spiteri pointed out that in some cases offenders did not limit themselves to using the phone just for verbal communication, but were also taking bigger risks by sending text messages or communicating on Facebook while driving.

“To add insult to injury we are not getting any backing from the authorities as more often than not officers are not being believed. This is why we are insisting on being equipped with body and dashboard cameras as it would make our job much easier.”

However, he criticised the authorities, including the higher echelons of the police force, claiming that they were resisting the POU proposal, which he said had been repeatedly shot down.

Official figures in recent years have shown that mobile phones now pose the biggest accident risk to motorists, much higher than drink-driving. It is estimated that sending a text message while driving requires at least five seconds, during which a motorist cannot keep a proper lookout on the road.

Moreover, there is also a tendency to veer off the lane, thus increasing the likelihood of an accident by four times as much.