Restructuring the police academy into one umbrella organisation for all disciplined forces does not mean the government’s approach will be one-size-fits-all, the Home Affairs Minister insisted yesterday.

Carmelo Abela gave this assurance when asked by the Times of Malta for his reaction in the wake of the criticism levelled by the Malta Police Association, which published a position paper on this matter.

“We are not proposing a one-size-fits-all approach, as each disciplined corps will retain its unique characteristics,” the minister said.

In its position paper published last Saturday, the MPA spoke against having one centralised academy for the police, civil protection, army and correctional officers. The proposal is being made in the Academy for Disciplined Forces Bill, which is being debated in Parliament at the committee stage.

The MPA is arguing that each disciplined force has its own distinct technical, tactical, legal and operational needs and so there is “no justification” for such a move.

However, the Home Affairs Minister yesterday allayed such concerns. “Training will still be given separately, but there might be circumstances of joint training exercises, though this will not be the norm,” Mr Abela told this newspaper during a visit at the Ta’ Kandja police academy.

He added that having an umbrella organisation to cater for the training of all disciplined forces was the best way to raise the standards.

Nevertheless, he said that this plan was by no means “blocking” any of the other possible developments which might materialise in the future.

On a positive note, he welcomed the fact that even the MPA acknowledged the need to overhaul the existing set-up.

“While there are some aspects on which both sides agree, in other areas, we need to explain better the reasoning behind them,” the minister said.