History and trivia of the police force

Upon his appointment as Governor and Commander-In-Chief of the Maltese Islands, Thomas Maitland decided on numerous reforms, among them maintaining law and order by establishing the Malta Police Force.

Sergeant Major Saviour Garcia, curator of the Police Museum and the Crime Museum at the Police General Headquarters in Floriana, explained that this was divided into two distinct departments, the executive police and the judicial police. The Inspector General of Police directed the executive police while the magistrates directed the judicial police.

The present organisation is similar but rather than an Inspector General of Police (a title that has been dropped) it is the Commissioner of Police that directs the executive police. The first Inspector General of Police was Count Colonel Francesco Rivalora, a predecessor of Police Commissioner John Rizzo.

Following the grant of self-governance to the islands, the government became responsible for the police force, appointing Alfredo Caruana Gatto as Minister for Justice and the Police, a predecessor of Carmelo Mifsud Bonnici, the Minister for Justice and Home Affairs.

The Police Museum houses an exhibition of items used since the force's inception. Other than items used during the war and in fire and sea operations, one finds trivia the police force used during its operations (some of which are little known).

Since then, the Malta Police Force has been divided into specialised branches, other than the district police: The administration, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), the Drug Squad, the Vice Squad, the Economic Crimes Unit, Protective Services and the Special Assignment Group (SAG).

Malta has been divided into two regions: The south, covering districts one to five, and the north, covering districts six to 10. An assistant commissioner is responsible for a region and a superintendent is responsible for a district. Each district is further divided into several divisions, for which an inspector is responsible.

It is the Malta Police Force's job to preserve the public order and peace, preventing, detecting and investigating offences, collecting evidence and bringing the offenders, whether principals or accomplices, before the judicial authorities.

And what shoe size does Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi wear? Visit the Police Museum at the Police General Headquarters tomorrow, when parts of the premises will be opened to the public between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. and Sergeant Major Garcia will explain where to find the shoes in the exhibition.