Police Commissioner Angelo Gafà says public trust in the force is on the rise and that ‘traditional’ crime is dropping.

It is very reassuring hearing him declare there is “absolutely” no interference from the Office of the Prime Minister and that politicians respect the autonomy of the police.

Still, the situation on the ground seems to be different to the picture he paints. Serious doubts remain on whether the much-vaunted new system of appointing the police commissioner truly guarantees no string-pulling from Castille.

Running a police force is no bed of roses. It is one of the most demanding and taxing jobs in the country.

However, in his interview with Times of Malta, Gafà focuses on the roses and avoids the prickles. Critics and the many who expected far better of him are right to question the way he skirted certain questions.

Gafà is right to note that, because of its crucial role, the police force needs to be in close contact with the government.

However, throughout the years, politicians, particularly those in office, expected a lot more than just being kept in the loop.

This ranged all the way from ensuring recruits are party card-holders to conducting investigations and prosecuting according to what certain people in the higher echelons of power decreed.

The police chief may well be satisfied with what he has achieved since his appointment two years ago. Indeed, Gafà has been proactive in trying to revamp the police force.

But many, and that includes international organisations, expect at least, the standards highlighted by the Daphne Caruana Galizia public inquiry conclusions.

The three judges on the inquiry board made a very damning statement with regard to police inaction. The police, they declared, looked the other way and sat pretty in the face of very serious allegations, with senior officers arguing that, in the absence of conclusive evidence, they had to proceed cautiously lest they provoke public unrest.

Police inaction, certainly as perceived by ordinary people, continues to be justified, even by the police themselves, on more or less the same lines: magisterial inquiries still in progress, ongoing investigations, refusing to comment on decisions made by other entities or on court cases…

The police had abdicated its duties, the public inquiry had concluded.

Judging by what they see, many are likely to argue that not much has changed. Gafà insists that information alone is not enough to stand in a court of law and that what matters is evidence. Indeed.

However, he fails to assure law-abiding citizens that all ‘information’, whether in the form of claims, allegations and/or reports by the media, are adequately and promptly investigated by the police and, where solid evidence exists, taken to court without loss of time.

The police commissioner should take society, which he is paid to serve and protect, in his confidence and explain why, for example, the police have yet to take action against Lawrence Cutajar, Silvio Valletta, Ian Abdilla and Keith Schembri in relation to leaks of official information.

When asked in the interview about the former chairman of Pilatus Bank, Gafà said he looked forward to the time when the police are given the opportunity to explain in court the work carried out. There were a million and one occasions when that could have happened. But we cannot blame the people for wondering whether the delays in certain high-profile prosecutions could eventually be to the benefit of the same suspects.