Justice Minister Owen Bonnici yesterday issued a stern warning to members of the Police Force saying he would not accept any collusion between officers and people accused before the Family Court in order for the latter not to attend a sitting on the pretext that they “could not be found”.

Winding up the debate in second reading of the Victims of Crime Bill, Dr Bonnici asked: “How is it possible for the police not to find an accused in an 18-month period in a small country like ours?” He said he would not tolerate a situation where it became obvious that a police officer was an accomplice to this practice.

Dr Bonnici said the police corps bore an enormous responsibility to ensure that women received their alimony on time and to protect those who were vulnerable and could not defend themselves. Generosity should not only come along once a year during l-Istrina, but all year round, and the police had a responsibility to ensure that these things did not continue.

Victims had for too long been taken for granted and ignored. This could be because many politicians who had served as justice ministers just happened to have been trained as defence lawyers so their natural inclination was to think of the rights of those whom they were defending. However, this law was just the first step in giving more rights to victims of crime.

How is it possible for the police not to find an accused in an 18-month period in a small country like ours?

In the past, there were victims who even went to court without a lawyer, and without knowing what was happening during the hearing. This new law made it obligatory for a victim to be given all the information necessary, in a language which the victim could understand.

While this would mean more expense, the right to a fair hearing could not be measured in monetary terms, as this was vital in a democracy.

Dr Bonnici said he would be putting forward an amendment to the Bill to clarify that the Justice Ministry would be taking paternity of the Bill and would absorb this financial expense.

He also committed himself to implement this law as quickly as possible, so that it would not remain on paper but be put into practice. This would require a change in mentality as well.

The pilot project before Magistrate Francesco Depasquale, in which court summons were handed out by civilians, had been successful, releasing officers so they could be engaged in more important work. This project would now be implemented in the Family Court.

The computerised system through which court notifications were sent electronically had also led to considerable improvement.

Dr Bonnici asked the Opposition to inform the House whether they agreed or not with the proposal to hand down judgments in minor cases where the accused did not show up. This happened throughout the EU and Malta should not be an exception.

The government was not afraid to take this step as it would greatly increase efficiency.