Police investigators are spending thousands of hours prosecuting cases in court but this could soon be a thing of the past.
Justice Minister Owen Bonnici said a new pilot project, which was looking into the possibility of ending police prosecutions in court proceedings, was “long overdue”.
“We are aware that change, as in all new things, poses a number of challenges, not least those relating to expertise and capacity,” he said. The pilot project, in Magistrate Franco Depasquale’s hall, has seen a team of lawyers prosecute on behalf of the police during traffic-related sittings.
Malta is one of only a few countries where the police are not only expected to investigate cases but also prosecute the accused. This leads many officers to be on duty for long hours in court.
Justice Ministry figures, seen by this newspaper, show that the police prosecuted nearly 30,000 cases last year. About 14,000 of them had been pending for more than a year.
Dr Bonnici said ending this would benefit citizens on three counts. First there would be fewer policemen “caught up in the corridors of the law courts”.
Fewer cases, he said, would be delayed because of officers engaged in other court proceedings or urgent investigations.
Having better trained lawyers would also improve the service over all, he said.
Police Commissioner Michael Cassar welcomed the possibility of investigators being freed up but said this would take some time before results could be seen.
“This will start giving results mid and long term. This is because prosecuting officers have various cases before several magistrates and, until these are handed over, the time in court cannot be minimised,” he pointed out.
Still, Mr Cassar said that the idea would eventually give officers in specialised squads more time to focus on investigation. It would also free up district police officers and give them more time to engage i crime prevention and community policing.
Chamber of Advocates president George Hyzler also welcomed the measure and said it mirrored a proposal the chamber had made in the past. The chamber called for the prosecuting function to be hived off from the police and placed under the responsibility of a Prosecutor General who would act independently of the Attorney General.
This, he said, had also been proposed in a report drafted by former European Court of Human Rights judge Giovanni Bonello.
Dr Hyzler said the challenge would arise in avoiding conflicts of interest.
“I hope that the role is a full-time one. If it isn’t, the situation where the prosecutor acts as such in one instance and a defence lawyer in the same field of law in another instance should be avoided,” he said.
Asked about such possible conflicts, Dr Bonnici said the government had launched the pilot project precisely for such a reason.
“We have started with a pilot project to draw lessons from this experience, take stock and be able to plan ahead sustainably and gradually,” he said.