More protection should be afforded to police officers through changes to the Criminal Code, the Malta Police Association said.

In a letter addressed to the Prime Minister and the Home Affairs Minister in light of a string of assaults on members of the police force, the MPA called for immediate action to ensure that officers no longer felt threatened while on duty.

“Though the law was amended in 2014 to protect police officers, the changes made were not enough to deter people from resisting, assaulting or violently attacking members of the force,” association secretary Robert Vella told this newspaper yesterday.

On Monday, a police sergeant was slightly injured as he tried to break up a fight while a constable had his glasses broken. Last week, a police inspector was punched in the face by a motorist during a road check near Mdina.

A 50-year-old man from Mqabba has been arraigned in connection with the incident.

Mr Vella said that while reports of assaults had become more frequent, the majority of incidents involving officers on duty still went unreported.

“Already this week, I know of three cases where police officers were injured after being assaulted while on duty,” he said.

He pointed out that other forms of abuse, such as of a verbal and threatening nature, were often the order of the day. These tended to go unnoticed since there would not be any physical injuries to report, he said.

“The reality is that penalties and suspended sentences are not enough to stop people from attacking the police.

“There is not enough deterrence because the consequences carry little weight.” As a result, Mr Vella went on, officers were becoming less motivated to act in cases where they might need to step in to protect the society.