From five weeks to a year: police training overhauled
New accredited course forms part of five-year police corps strategy
Police recruits in Malta will soon face a full year of training - up from just five weeks in the past - under reforms unveiled by Commissioner Angelo Gafà on Friday.
Speaking as the unveiled the corps plan for the next five years, Gafà said that "until recently, some recruitment programmes used to be as short as five weeks".
He told Times of Malta that the recruitment programme developed in recent years had been extended to six months and validated by the Malta Further and Higher Education Authority (MFHEA).
“That is now going to be extended to a year and will be led in collaboration with the University of Malta," Gafà said.
The new course, which will welcome its first intake of students in the coming weeks, will include a blend of theory, practical training and on-the-job experience.
A police spokesperson explained the curriculum covers a range of key elements for police constables and gives an "up-to-date coverage of areas of knowledge, understanding, skills and professional approaches that are critical to the 21st-century police constable role.”
“The Pre-Tertiary Certificate in Policing is jointly accredited by the University of Malta and the MFHEA, structured and designed with the collaboration of the Malta Police Force, University of Malta, UK College of Policing and the Academy for Disciplined Forces.”
The police corps strategy for the next five years aims to improve the police’s efforts in enhancing public safety, strengthening public trust in the force, and incorporating technology better into police work.
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Among the police’s commitments listed in the strategy are a pledge to identify and focus on “crime hotspots” and enhance the police’s intelligence function by “adopting advanced tools, methodologies and technologies to identify, predict and pre-empt emerging threats”.
The police also want to promote “understanding and respect for cultural, social, and economic diversity… to ensure equitable policing within the communities we serve”.
They also aim to build relationships with people from different cultures living in Malta to “foster trust and address community needs effectively”.
The police are also committed to keeping the public updated with crime statistics.
In total, the strategy outlines 75 “commitments” listed in the document.