Some 230 extra police officers are needed to keep up with the challenges of crime and misdemeanour, according to the Home Affairs Ministry.
The force is currently made up of 1,916 officers who have a heavy workload – each police officer has to deal with an average of 108 cases of theft, vandalism and bodily harm every year, according to the latest available figures, which are from 2011.
The issue of police resources was first flagged up when Times of Malta asked the Home Affairs Ministry why the Swieqi police station remained closed one year after its inauguration.
A ministry spokeswoman said it was because the force could not spare three officers to man it.
Residents of Swieqi, which neighbours the nightlife mecca Paceville, have long been calling for a police station in their locality.
Security is a problem for residents who regularly face misbehaving foreign language students, drunken clubbers and burglaries.
Swieqi falls under the jurisdiction of the St Julian’s police precinct – which covers Swieqi, Madliena and Paceville – but residents feel its officers are stretched too thin.
Reacting to the situation a ministry spokeswoman said: “It is quite evident that a substantial number of police officers need to be recruited to cater for today’s challenging demands.”
Exact figures on the ideal officer complement are hard to establish as restructuring of the force is still under way. The call for new officers includes contracts for 104 constables, 27 inspectors and 100 reserve constables.
Figures provided by the police’s Community and Media Relations Unit show that the bulk of the 1,916 officers in the force – 1,124 – are men constables. There are only 228 women constables.
Similarly, only 86 women are employed as sergeants compared with nearly 300 men.
The trend of fewer women in blue continues in the higher ranks: there are only five female sergeant majors out of a total of 57; 19 inspectors out of 97; and two superintendents out of 17.
Asked about the apparent gender divide, the spokeswoman said: “Promotion exercises are under way to the senior ranks and have not been terminated.
“Therefore it is a bit premature to comment.”
A woman’s glass ceiling, however, may not be the only problem facing the force. Two weeks ago The Sunday Times of Malta also reported that local law enforcers had more deputy and assistant commissioners than the London Metropolitan Police, whose force is 17 times the size.
The report followed the appointment of seven new assistant commissioners and three deputy commissioners.