I refer to the article entitled 'In pursuit of ego trips' by Michael Falzon (The Sunday Times, September 6).

Contrary to Mr Falzon's impression, the laws of this country already provide for "checks and balances on police conduct in Malta".

The Police Board (which is the local equivalent of the Independent Police Complaints Commission in the UK referred to by Mr Falzon) was set up by means of Act XIII of 2002, to serve as an independent institution with the duty to investigate suspect police actions.

The board is completely independent of the police corps and its members are appointed by the President. Its chair is Justice Emeritus Franco Depasquale.

Any member of the public can forward complaints to the Police Board for investigation. Indeed, many have done so since its inception. In the past seven years, the board concluded investigations on 70 reports that were referred to it directly from the public or otherwise on matters varying from requests for compensation to allegations of abusive behaviour or failure to take action.

Any members of the public who feel they should bring any matter to the attention of the Police Board can do so in writing, addressing their correspondence to P.O. Box 21, Rabat.