Police officers are not all pulling the same rope, according to Police Commissioner Michael Casssar, who says that “some are more eager to work than others”.

In a candid interview with The Sunday Times of Malta, Mr Cassar says that having four police commissioners in just two-and-a-half years has given rise to “instability” and “could have conditioned the way some officers delivered results”.

He stresses his determination to improve the situation with his own vision, but says the recent exodus of high-ranking police officers from the force is down to the expiry of the collective agreement next year.

“Many officers who did not retire after 25 years of service would have waited for the last year of the collective agreement when the increments would be the highest to retire from the police force. In this way they would retire with a higher two-thirds pension.”

Mr Cassar also says there is a need to adopt new investigative methods that are based on intelligence gathering and analysis, and outlines his intention to beef up the Economic Crimes Unit with professionals in the field.

The police commissioner also believes the days of having a police station in every town and village are over.

He would rather have police officers on the beat than cooped up behind desks, but acknowledges such a move needs to be implemented gradually.