The Home Affairs Ministry is looking into the possibility of introducing body and dashboard cameras for police officers after repeated calls from union representatives for such equipment.

The need for police officers to be equipped with small clip-on cameras and cameras in their cars was last raised by Inspector Sandro Camilleri, president of the Police Officers Union, on Saturday.

Mr Camilleri said officers often faced abusive behaviour and violence from citizens in the course of their duties, as many felt officers “over-enforced certain laws, turning the island into a police state”.

Government sources said the administration was not against the introduction of such equipment in principle. There were, however, significant financial considerations. “Equipment like this is often specialised and far from cheap. Perhaps a pilot project would be carried out first to test equipment and see how best to go about using it,” the sources said.

Mr Camilleri was commenting in reaction to a Times of Malta story, which last week showed scores of motorists in Msida acting with impunity.

The 30-minute exercise, a video of which was uploaded on timesofmalta.com, showed numerous drivers flouting the law by using their mobile phones, putting themselves and others at risk.

The offences are still being committed despite official data showing some 2,000 motorists were fined €100 for using their mobile phone while driving every month.

Officers often face abuse when trying to curb such behaviour.

“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,” Mr Camilleri said.