People in Malta are among the least likely in the EU to get stopped in the street by the police, according to research by the Fundamental Rights Agency.

The island ranks second lowest, along with Romania, in terms of people reporting being stopped by officers while Austria tops the poll.

Published on Tuesday, the research also shows that, across the EU, ethnic minorities are usually stopped more often than the general population. This is not the case in Malta, an evaluation of the agency’s surveys published over the past five years suggests.

Five per cent of sub-Saharan Africans and their descendants living in Malta reported being stopped by the police, compared with seven per cent of the general population.

However, when sub-Saharan Africans are stopped on the island, they are more likely to report perceiving the police as disrespectful.

The paper Your Rights Matter: Police Stops (see PDF below) is being published on Tuesday to mark one year from the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, USA, by a white police officer.

The figures for police stops of sub-Saharan Africans and their descendants range from 49 per cent in Austria to five per cent in Malta and the UK, which left the EU last year.

In comparison, 25 per cent of Austria’s, seven per cent of Malta’s and three per cent of the UK’s general population reported being stopped.

The paper draws on findings from the agency’s different surveys published over the past five years and presents data that, for the first time, makes it possible to compare, across all EU member states, the experiences of police stops by the general population and by migrant and ethnic minority groups.

Such searches are only carried out if the officers have beyond reasonable doubt about an alleged crime

It shows that black people, Asians and Roma are more likely to be stopped and searched by the police, impacting their trust in policing. Out of those who consider themselves to be part of an ethnic minority, 22 per cent in the EU were stopped by the police, as opposed to 13 per cent of people who do not consider themselves to be part of an ethnic minority.

Disrespectful treatment

According to FRA, ethnic minorities also experience more disrespectful treatment than the general population. Across the EU, around 80 per cent of people generally say that the police treated them respectfully, however, by contrast, 46 per cent of minorities say so.

This is also true for Malta.

While only four per cent of those from Malta’s general population who were stopped by the police believe the officers were disrespectful, 35 per cent of sub-Saharan Africans believe the police were disrespectful.

Further data shows that fewer people in Malta, compared to the European Union average, perceive the police as respectful. Asked to say, based on what they have heard or their own experience, whether the police generally treated people with respect, 58 per cent of people in Malta, compared to an EU’s average of 65, think they do.

'A culture of cautiousness'

Mary Muscat, a lawyer and academic who spent 13 years as an inspector with the Malta Police Force, suggested the low numbers of police stops in Malta could be down to a culture of cautiousness.

“This cautiousness dates back to the 1990s when cases of alleged breach of human rights by the police in the 1980s started being heard and decided upon,” she said.

“The force learned a lesson and adopted a human rights narrative in its search practices which soon became standard and is even stressed upon during training: better to be cautious than to be in the wrong.”

In Malta, stop and search is usually carried out by police officers, who might ask the Armed Forces of Malta for back-up or support.

“Such searches are only carried out if the officers have beyond reasonable doubt about an alleged crime and even the courts are very meticulous in issuing search warrants,” she said.

“This sense of ‘over cautiousness’ transcends stop and searches  and officers are also cautious when it comes to stopping people during routine patrols, including when asking drivers to take breathalyser tests.”