Editorial

The last months have placed a significant additional weight of responsibility upon the shoulders of the Commander of the Armed Forces of Malta, Brigadier Carmel Vassallo, and the Commissioner of Police, John Rizzo. The ever-increasing flow of illegal immigrants has made substantial demands on the army's and the police force's manpower and other resources.

About 200 soldiers and policemen are tied down on guarding duties at the centres holding illegal immigrants. The majority come from the army. The army and the police have risen to this unsavoury task with commendable organisation, imagination and discipline.

The AFM's maritime and air squadrons have carried out the humanitarian task of rescuing illegal immigrants in distress at sea with skill and courage and with the most meagre of resources at their disposal. On all these counts, this country owes the army and the police force a debt of gratitude.

It has to be acknowledged, however, that both the army and the police are severely under strength and inadequately equipped. The new demands placed on their resources do not seem to have been matched by compensating increases. These have been further exacerbated by new commitments as a result of Malta's accession to the European Union.

The result is that Malta today fields forces of law and order and security that are under-manned and seriously over-stretched. Their morale is being severely tested.

Police stations are regularly unmanned to meet higher priority demands elsewhere. The force's administrative law enforcement unit is unable to cope with infringements in hunting, trapping, traffic control and others for which it is nominally responsible.

Army training is virtually at a standstill. Maintenance of military vehicles and equipment leaves a lot to be desired. Major skills, such as those of the engineer squadron and air defence battery, are not being practised because the manpower is diverted elsewhere.

The problems of the AFM and the police force are not new. They result from cumulative government neglect over several years. While a genuine attempt to tackle the modernisation of both forces was made between 1996 and 1998 with the then government's White Paper on Modernising the AFM's Military Capability and the Police Restructuring Review, the recommendations made were not pursued by the new administration with the necessary vigour and political will.

Both forces have faced successive "freezes" on recruitment and on their finances. Such recruitment as has been permitted has failed to keep up with the outflow from both forces. The average age of both forces is far too high. Yet, both require young recruits, not only as replacements for those leaving but also, fundamentally, for efficient, energetic and operationally effective units.

The authorities cannot any longer treat the army and the police as mere government departments, constituting a head count in the public service. Both forces are considerably more than that and require different treatment to take full account of their value as disciplined and loyal forces to which loyalty is also owed.

The Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister personally have a duty to ensure the security forces are given the manpower resources to meet their roles effectively.