The Police Commissioner has justified the decision to deploy former police officers, some of whom are their early 70s, arguing that this will strengthen the police force with immediate effect as no training is required.
Commissioner Peter Paul Zammit was replying to questions from The Sunday Times of Malta regarding the government’s decision to employ 150 reserve constables.
Sources told this newspaper that questions were raised after it transpired that in some cases former police officers well past pensionable age had been assigned to carry out regular everyday duties at police stations.
The commissioner said that in recent years the force had been working within “limited human resources parameters”. As a result, the re-employment of former police officers on a reduced-hours basis to assist the force on all of its commitments was being encouraged.
They are being employed in all police stations
Mr Zammit said 102 reserve police had already been engaged. “This employment works on experience-based policing, thus saving training and achieving immediacy of deployment,” he said. Though their name might suggest otherwise, members of the reserve force were not being kept on standby but were being assigned to carry out everyday duties. Since the law regulating their employment empowers them to full police powers they are being employed in all police stations and duties as generally befits their experience to maximise output.” The commissioner also played down concerns about the fitness of some of these reserve constables. He said that rather than being disadvantaged, officers of a certain age could have an edge due to their experience. Nevertheless he acknowledged that health issues could not be overlooked and so had to be taken into consideration.
Regarding the general conditions of employment of reserve constables, Mr Zammit said that the expected performance and remuneration was in line with their duties and results. The commissioner said that the payment rate was legally established as being pro rata of a full constable.
He also pointed out that no applicable guidelines were being overlooked in the case of former officers who had been dismissed for disciplinary reasons.
Though the option to employ reserve constables has been there since 2002 when the Police Act came into force, up to last year only 11 appointments were made, of which nine during the 2005 Commonwealth Summit.
According to the conditions of work which were tabled in Parliament, reserve constables are expected to be on duty between 23 and 35 hours a week between Monday and Friday. They are also entitled to vacation leave and sick leave as applicable to regular police officers.
A reserve constable may at any time after the expiration of one month from the commencement of the agreement’s date, terminate his engagement by giving one month’s notice in writing or paying two weeks salary to the Commissioner of Police.