Police officers no longer enjoy the respect their colleagues did in the past and have to regularly deal with aggression, relatives have said. 

Speaking to the Times of Malta after the annual remembrance celebration for policemen who have passed away, relatives of former police officers said they feared people no longer respected the force.

“I remember back when my father was an officer, whenever he was in uniform people looked at him in awe. I’m from Valletta and I can still picture policemen patrolling Republic Street and people admiring them. That’s no longer the case today,” one relative said as she laid a small wreath at the Santa Maria Addolorata Cemetery monument in honour of her father.

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She said growing up with a father in the force meant she was equipped with certain values that she carried with her to this day.

The daughter added, however, that some years ago the police enjoyed the respect of every single member of society and not just those who grew up with members of the force in their families.

Other relatives also expressed concern that as a result of this apparent lack of respect for the force, the police were at a greater risk, as was the case in May after traffic officer Simon Schembri was grievously injured when he was run over in a hit-and-run.

“There is definitely lack of respect. When my father was an officer, people would obey their instructions and show a certain sense of admiration. Now we are at a point where the police are constantly in fear that they might be attacked while doing their job. It’s such a shame,” another relative argued.

Unions and police associations have in recent years been insisting on the introduction of bodycams so that police officers would have a safeguard from abuse. The bodycams are also thought to cut down instances of confrontation.

Times of Malta reported last month that traffic police are set to be kitted with more robust helmets as well as bodycams as part of a pilot project that the government said would be launched “in the near future”. No details on when these would be introduced have yet been given, however.

The issue of protective wear was again brought to the fore after it emerged in court testimony that the injuries suffered by Mr Schembri, who was flipped on to the car’s bonnet and then dragged underneath it for several metres, would have been much worse had he not been wearing protective gear that was superior to that provided by the force and which he paid for out of his own pocket.

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