The electronic tagging of people who have a protection order not to approach a domestic violence victim should be explored, according to Commissioner on Gender-based and Domestic Violence Audrey Friggieri.

She said that while there been progress in the field of domestic violence, with the introduction of the concept of femicide and great efforts by stakeholders including police, “we need to speed things up as delays are leading to victims being re-victimised.

“Justice cannot be delayed. I am in favour of electronic tagging to ensure that victims do not live in fear. However, we need to look into the legal aspects,” Friggieri said.

A suggestion for electronic tagging was made by Madam Justice Consuelo Scerri Herrera four years ago when deciding a bail request made by lawyers assisting an alleged rapist.

On that occasion, Madam Justice Scerri Herrera had noted that in 2012, lawyer and then-MP Franco Debono had suggested introducing electronic tagging of suspects to allow effective surveillance.

In September 2021, the government announced a bill aimed at regulating the use of electronic tagging for those who commit minor crimes as well as prisoners out on parole or leave. People involved in crimes related to minors, domestic violence, gender-based violence and failure to pay maintenance will not be eligible. 

More recently, the electronic tagging of domestic violence perpetrators has been suggested in a study carried out by the University of Malta’s Faculty for Social Well-being.

The study – Perpetrators of Domestic Violence: Statistics and Perceptions of Risk Factors for Harmful Behaviour – made recommendations that included exploring the use of electronic tagging of alleged perpetrators.

Tagging could be a way to ensure that protection orders are not breached – as was allegedly the case in the femicide of mother-of-two Bernice Cassar.

Last Tuesday, Cassar was shot dead while driving to work at Corradino industrial estate, Paola. Her estranged husband, Roderick Cassar, has been charged with the murder and is pleading not guilty.

Relatives and friends spoke about a system that failed Bernice Cassar, who left the matrimonial home in May after her husband allegedly held a knife to her throat. She filed a police report, and the case was scheduled for November 17, 2023 – a full year from now. 

The court issued a protection order, prohibiting her husband from approaching her. She filed several reports claiming he breached them – including one on the Sunday before the murder.

Friends spoke about how Bernice was also scared her husband would turn up and hurt her following alleged death threats.

How else could protection orders be policed?

Electronic tagging could have allowed her peace of mind. But lawyer Veronique Dalli has her concerns.

Through her experience, Dalli has seen that, while in the majority of cases protection orders are effective, there were some people who were not deterred. This was especially the case in family issues where people were emotionally charged, she said.

“I think there should be a centralised system which manages protection orders,” she said.

“At the moment there is none and the victim had to stay carrying around an authenticated or legal copy of the original just in case there is a breach.”

As for electronic tagging, her concerns are that such a system could only work if both aggressor and victim were tagged – which is something that had to be discussed.

Moreover, someone had to monitor their whereabouts.

In her view, the problem boils down to a lack of resources. There was a need to beef up the police as the current team handling such cases was working hard but was burnt out – an element that emerged in the university study which also flagged the need to appoint a specialised judicial team to handle such cases.

At the moment one magistrate handles all domestic violence cases. The government has pledged to appoint another magistrate to help with the caseload and slash the backlog.

Victim Support Malta head Julianne Grima agrees that without the right investment not much progress can be made when it comes to domestic violence and femicide.

“Prevention can only happen if the Ministry for Home Affairs makes a heavy investment in the resources for the police force, training, recruitment and support,” she said.

“We not only need more police on our streets, we need officers with the correct values and support to do their job – it’s not only about the quantity but also the quality.

“The ministry simultaneously needs to invest in our judiciary, providing them with the necessary resources to be efficient in a timely manner.”

Speaking about electronic tagging Grima added: “For as long as there is the manpower to manage that system it would be amazing. But this is the same as bail conditions. If no one is watching... people literally get away with murder.”