People who assault police officers could soon face significantly harsher punishment as the government is looking into toughening the law in the wake of last weekend’s Ħamrun brawl.

A bill is yet to be drafted but sources close to the government said the amended law could empower judges to hand out heavier fines, longer prison sentences and even replace probation and suspended sentences with actual jail time in several cases.

Consultations on the fairness and deterrent effect of the new bill are ongoing and the law would apply to assault of any public official, not just the police.

Contacted for comment, Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri confirmed the process started and was optimistic, saying details of the new bill would be provided in the coming days.

As part of the exercise, the government is running a comparative analysis study to understand how such crimes are addressed and punished in other countries.

PN MP and home affairs spokesperson Darren Carabott confirmed that the opposition agrees with a tougher law in principle.

On Monday, Minister Camilleri informally met police constables Clive Mallia and Aidan Demicoli, who were assaulted after issuing a parking ticket on Saturday evening in Ħamrun.

Bystanders filmed the assault on their phones and the footage quickly circulated on social media, sparking shock.

Also on Monday, four men and a woman – aged between 23 and 46 – were charged in court with assaulting and injuring the two officers. They stand accused of forming a mob to cause public fear, violence, insults and threats against public officers, attacking officers on duty, wilful breach of the public peace, wilful damage to public property and causing slight and grievous injuries.

How tough is tough enough?

The law is already quite unforgiving with people found guilty of reviling, vilifying, threatening or causing bodily harm to any public official – not just police officers – while on duty.

Their punishment is generally increased by two degrees, and they face as much as four years imprisonment and a €20,000 fine if found guilty.

The law was amended to include these toughened jail terms and fines in 2014, following a bill proposed by then-opposition MP Jason Azzopardi.

But back then, Azzopardi wanted to go even further.

He wanted fellow lawmakers to include a clause that would not allow magistrates and judges to hand probation and suspended sentences for such crimes.

This would mean persons who physically and severely assault public officials would inevitably have to go to prison.

Most people convicted of such crimes are handed probation sentences and that is not a strong enough message against violence on public officials, he argued. Probation sentences are effectively considered as acquittals and offer no real deterrent.

In the eyes of the law, a public officer is anyone who is lawfully appointed to administer work for the state and includes anyone from government officials, teachers and enforcement officers to magistrates.

‘Address police officer shortage’ – PN

PN home affairs spokesperson Darren Carabott said he agrees with having tougher laws in principle, but that was not enough.

“Tougher penalties would serve as a deterrent, but what’s more important is to look at other ways to stop this sort of act from happening,” Carabott said, adding one way was to address police officer shortage.

Malta had fewer police officers in 2022 than 2014, he said, despite the surge in population.

Furthermore, crimes have become more complicated and the police force needs more resources to investigate offences like cybercrime and money laundering. Carabott said Police Commissioner Angelo Gafa’ has also encouraged a culture of “anything goes”.

“People now feel they will not face consequences when they break the law,” he said.

Were the officers protected enough?

The videos of the Ħamrun incident on Saturday caused an uproar not simply because of the aggressors’ behaviour, but also because of the officers’ seeming inability to properly defend themselves and subdue the assailants.

On social media several people asked why the officers were not better equipped to fight back and take control of the situation while others questioned why back up officers could not arrive on site to the rescue of their colleagues earlier.

In a reply to questions, a police spokesperson said the two officers on Saturday were equipped with pepper spray, taser, batons and one of them was also had a service firearm (glock).

“Police officers undergo practical training covering safe weapon handling, control and restraint techniques, use of taser and pepper spray, and public order and crowd management, among other topics,” the spokesperson said.

He added that all officers are equipped with handcuffs, pepper spray, baton, radio, and as of recently, with body-worn cameras and an upgraded baton.

He would not say whether the force is considering revising its policies on equipment and its use.

The law offers little guidance on what a police officer can or should do in a situation like last weekend’s, but it does make one thing very clear – that their response must be proportionate to the attack.

The Police Act says: “Police officers may use such moderate and proportionate force as may be necessary to ensure the observance of the laws.”

This means they cannot hit back hastily or recklessly, one police source explained, let alone use their gun in a scenario where the attackers were not wielding any weapons.

Internal standard operating procedures (SOPs) offer officers more detailed do’s and don’ts.

Even if they use the baton, which is usually an effective tool to defend themself and take control of the brawl, they must not hit the aggressor on the head or on other parts of the body that could cause severe or permanent damage.

Another source said the taser only allows the officer to fire twice and only subdues the aggressor for around five seconds – which would have hardly helped in Saturday’s situation, as there were too many aggressors and just two tasers.

“And they also cannot aim the taser just anywhere on the aggressor’s body. They cannot hit them in the eye or other critical places and the instrument cannot be used on people with heart problems and pregnant women,” one source explained.

“Aiming safely might seem easy on paper but doing it on the spot while surrounded with that many aggressors is a whole other story.”

These instruments, while helpful, could also backfire if the aggressors grab hold of them or if the officers are themselves hit with pepper spray or a taser shot.

On Monday, the police confirmed the officers used pepper spray to subdue the people, who emerged from a nearby catering establishment and assaulted them after they issued a parking infringement ticket.