Three days after the Bidnija murder, Police Commissioner Lawrence Cutajar finally came out to face the cameras. The event was a shambles. Chaotic and disorganised, he came across like a local village sheriff who was out of his depth and not enjoying the attention at all. Above all, it was a crime conference that told nothing.

One understands the legal constraints that must exist on divulging certain information related to crime investigations. But the conference was pathetic. The Police Commissioner and his deputies answered nothing, apparently unaware there is a whole country waiting to know why a major journalist was blown to smithereens outside her home.

Ironically, it was the Home Affairs Minister who the next day in Parliament said someone had already come forward with information.

If the organisation of the conference was anything to go by, it did not look like the police were in control of anything. Former Nationalist Party leader Simon Busuttil said he was ashamed to watch the event. Actually, everyone was as no one wants to see the country’s police force presented in such a shambolic state.

It adds credence to the Opposition’s call for the Police Commissioner to be substituted by somebody who would enjoy the support of both sides of the House. It would be a good start to giving back credibility to the force which, for all its efforts, finds itself undermined by a leadership that does not breed confidence.

The home affairs sector has been on a roller coaster ride since Labour came to government in 2013. Police commissioners have come and gone, some more ingloriously then others. There is constant talk of reform, one of which is apparently still underway. There are new police vehicles on the road and, yes, there have been successes too, like the recent drug haul, the crime conference on which went much smoother.

Problems with interior affairs are not new to the Labour Party. Daphne Caruana Galizia’s murder brought back memories of the 1980s when the police force was politicised to the point that attending a Nationalist Party mass meeting always came with the risk of a police confrontation. The only time when police intimidation was not present was in 1986 at the funeral of Raymond Caruana, himself a victim of a political murder.

The accusation from the Opposition is that the country’s institutions have failed and proof of that, in appearance at least, was the crime conference that was not. This was not the assertive, assuring Police Commissioner the country so badly needs.

Given the grave situation this country has found itself in when faced with the first political murder in 30 years, there is a dire need for leadership, not just politically, but in the fundamental institution of the police force.

The Commissioner of Police had failed the people when he did not move on the Panama Papers. He came across as a government stooge and nothing will make that impression go away. When asked about his integrity at the crime conference, he refused to be drawn into the argument. He did not come across as his own man.

What the people want, most of all, is an assurance that things are being done properly and those in charge are competent enough to do their job.

That did not come across on Thursday.