Whistleblowers may feel more comfortable spilling the beans to investigative journalists and certain lawyers, but Police Commissioner Angelo Gafà tells Mario Xuereb that the Maltese trust their police force more than ever.

MX: What do you consider your greatest success as police commissioner over the past four years?

AG: More than my success, I consider the success of the police force and the communities we work with. Our mission is “to provide a professional and trusted policing service, to ensure safety and security in partnership with the community”.

MX: But can you mention anything in particular?

AG: Over the past four years, we placed particular emphasis on the fact police work is nobody’s monopoly, but something we must do in partnership with the communities. The vision of the force is “for the public to trust us in ensuring a safe and secure society for everyone”. It is trust and confidence in the police.

MX: Do you believe the police are trusted?

AG: My opinion doesn’t matter.  Statistics do. In June 2020, during my first press conference, I promised a police force that would work tirelessly to gain that trust. Back then, Times of Malta had published a survey showing trust in the police force was very low – 49%.  Over the years we worked on various fronts: we improved communication, good governance and effectiveness. An NSO survey shows that today 90% trust the police force.

MX: But then we have...

AG: The Eurobarometer survey shows the police force is the most trusted institution in the country, twice as much, if not more, compared to political parties, the judiciary and even the media.

MX: But I’m sure you’re aware of several cases where people file a report at the station but are sent away. People talk about corruption but the police don’t seem to act. Many declare having lost trust in the police force because of such situations.

AG: Some will find something to complain about no matter what you do. I’m by no means saying we are perfect but I emphasise the levels of confidence because that gives us more legitimacy. The EU Crime Prevention Network states, “the management of public confidence has become almost as important as the management of crime itself”. Because without a cooperative public, you can’t be good at investigations, and even less so at prevention.

MX: How do you explain people exposing illegalities to the media, journalists and lawyers, rather than reporting directly to the police?

AG: This is a force made up of 2,400 people. We are far from perfect. The majority of our people are very good, and they go out of their way to do their job properly. Some fall short of what is required, and precisely for that reason we have structures like the Professional Standards Office, which specifically looks into these shortcomings.

Today, whoever goes to a police station can rate our service through a QR code.

I am in no way contradicting what you’re saying, because I also receive complaints regularly but certain crimes have increased.

We don’t take pleasure in this, but a particular crime that has recently become topical due to a recent incident, is domestic violence. Compared to four years ago, reporting [of domestic violence] has increased by more than 55%. That’s a crime that was under-reported.

Last year alone, we saw a 13%  increase compared to the previous year, and 75% of these reports are psychological violence. This means that today, a victim of domestic violence is much more likely to come forward to the police because they have more trust in a more professional and empathetic service.

Generally, I do not communicate with the prime minister. Absolutely not

MX: But is it acceptable that a report of domestic violence is not acted upon with urgency? In that most recent case you alluded to [the Nicolette Ghirxi femicide], on April 22, a domestic violence report was lodged. The police tried to contact the perpetrator. He was abroad, but the police didn’t follow up when he returned to Malta, even though they were told he was back on the island. Do you think that’s acceptable?

AG: You are referring to a specific case, there’s a magisterial inquiry, an independent police complaints board, and several levels of scrutiny currently on the police force and other entities. In the end, like many areas where the police force operates, it’s a multi-stakeholder area. Several reports come in daily.  Last year we had over 2,000 reports...

MX: Yes, but in this particular case, on Thursday when the victim realised the individual was back in Malta, she informed the police. By Sunday, nothing had happened. By Sunday, the victim was dead...

AG: I’ll say it again, I can’t speak on specific cases. Generally, the reports are analysed  and there’s a risk-rating. Based on that risk rating, the police take action. I want to be clear as much as I have been with the media and with the joint parliamentary committee. When risk assessments are not carried out, the matter does not stop there.  

Risk assessments are only guides for the police to understand how to proceed in specific circumstances. The police make a provisional judgement of that risk and they act based on the result. Given there are ongoing investigations and out of respect for the family, it wouldn’t be wise to discuss this specific case.

MX: So, let’s refer to a previous case [the murder of Bernice Cassar on November 22, 2022]. An inquiry found the victim made a report at 11pm. In the hours that followed no action was taken by the police, and the next morning the victim was dead. Such things upset the community.

AG: Today, we are focusing on domestic violence because of the recent unfortunate incident. But the police force has been giving active priority to domestic violence for the last four years, at least. In June 2020, I pledged a police force under my leadership that would give priority to victims, particularly victims of domestic violence. This wasn’t just lip service. Three months later, the police force, for the first time, established a Gender-Based Domestic Violence Unit to improve the service. 

Until then, a person would go to a police station hoping to find someone who would be sympathetic. Domestic violence isn’t just any crime. We started with 20 people from the police headquarters. The demand kept increasing, and today we have over 60 officers catering to this service. We opened the first hub, and the plans are that by mid-next year, we’ll have a second hub. We have specialised people…

MX: You haven’t answered my question about the lack of urgency in dealing with reports on domestic violence.  Is it because of a lack of resources...?

AG: I’ll refer to the Valenzia inquiry, which concluded that “even in a perfect system, these incidents will continue to occur”. The procedures we adopt are based on the best practices of other countries. We look closely at the English model. I have yet to hear of any country that has a zero rate of these types of crimes.

MX: Are you satisfied with the quality of the police in the force you lead?

AG: In recent years, we have strengthened training and made sure the initial training is accredited.

In the past, with approaching elections, police training was reduced to five weeks to ensure new recruits were ready for the general election. This is no longer the case.

Basic training at the academy lasts a minimum of six months and is accredited. Discussions with the University of Malta and the College of Policing in England are at an advanced stage.

By the end of next year, if all goes well, we plan to start a new training model over a longer period, which will also allow trainees to gain on-the-job experience. 

We also place a lot of emphasis on continuous professional development.

MX: Between 2017 and 2022, the force lost 130 police officers through resignations. Have you analysed the reason? Isn’t this a lack of trust in the force from within?

AG: Compared to 20 years ago, today we have 500 more members in the police force. That means 25% more officers than we had 20 years ago.

MX: It has become easier to become a police officer though.

AG: No proper study has ever been made on police officers. In the past four years, we conducted two independent surveys.  The latest of these shows 89% of our people are proud to be part of the police force; 74%  say feel motivated in the police force; 81% have confidence in the administration; 79% say that the goals and priorities of the police force are well communicated; 65% – an increase of 17% over the first survey – say we prioritise their well-being.

MX: Nobody can deny that the police force has become a political football.  I know this bothers you. In your opinion, why is this happening?

AG: I don’t know. Ask those who want to turn it into a political football. What I can tell you is that despite everything, the police force is focused on its work, and so I think even when certain statements are made, we need to go beyond the rhetoric and ensure they are evidence-based. 

If we compare today’s crime rate in our country, per capita, today we have 31 crime reports per 1,000 residents, while 20 years ago, we had 46 crime reports per 1,000 residents.

MX: But I’ll go back to the argument I made...

AG: But you’re asking me a question and you are not letting me answer...

MX: ... could it be that people are reluctant to go to the police because they don’t have confidence...?

AG: I quoted facts about domestic violence. If there’s an area where there’s a high possibility of a dark figure of crime, it’s domestic violence. And I showed you how in the last four years, these crimes have increased by over 55%. And I’ll give you an example about theft in our country.

Last year, there were 4,700 reports of theft, while 20 years ago, there were over 11,000 reports. 

Recently, you published an article about the situation in Swieqi. Compared to 20 years ago, we have a 29% decrease in damages in Swieqi. Bodily harm in Swieqi has decreased by 80%; theft has gone down by 72%. And so, when there’s this rhetoric, it’s unfortunate. The police force is a fundamental institution in the country, and so it’s a shame that when criticism is made, it’s mixed with partisan politics.

MX: You receive a lot of flak for police inaction on the Vitals, Identità and the social benefit fraud. And I keep coming back to the lack of confidence in the police force. Due to the lack of trust, some whistleblowers feel more comfortable going to [lawyer and former MP] Jason Azzopardi rather than coming to the police to investigate?

AG: I must correct you. You said the police was not investigating. You mentioned Identità and the social security cases. So, who was investigating, if not the police?  Just because someone today calls for an inquiry, do you think the police...

MX: Then why do we get to know [about the crimes and illegalities] from other sources [rather than the police]?

AG: Let’s start with Identità. Just this week, we had the inquiring magistrate who came here, who was pleased to see the work we carried out on this particular case.

How did you find out about it? I’ll tell you how... we charged two people in court, and their statements reached third parties. I have no problem that their statements ended elsewhere. What I know is that in their statements, they mentioned individuals who allegedly were facilitating the issuance of 10-year residents’ permits.

Those same people were arrested by the police in July and are currently on police bail. In complex cases, suspects are no longer arrested and rushed to court because we would have to conduct computer analysis, data extraction from mobile phones, financial analyses to verify the possibility of corruption or misuse of funds. There are people currently on police bail, and the police have filed several...

MX: The accusation is that the police don’t take the lead in corruption investigations...

AG: That’s not true, not true at all. You mentioned the social security benefits fraud and Identità. Who has the lead in those? The police of course.  We liaise with the attorney general, who ultimately has to

determine if there is enough evidence to bring people to court. 

MX: Have you ever had interference from the Prime Minister’s Office?

AG: Absolutely not. No, and no. That is, statements were made recently that made no sense at all.  Absolutely not, I never had, and I won’t tolerate it.

MX: How often do you meet the prime minister?

AG: We don’t even communicate, generally.  I don’t even know when...

MX: So, on Vitals and the way forward, you’ve never had...

AG: ...absolutely not. I think the last time I met the prime minister was during the exchange of Christmas greetings. If I remember well. Generally, I do not communicate with the prime minister. Absolutely not. 

With regards to the Vitals case, the attorney general and the police had a clear order from the inquiring magistrate, an order that exceeds a hundred pages in that inquiry, detailing people who should be brought to court and what they should be charged with. That’s what we did together with the attorney general. The prosecutor is the attorney general, and there’s one charge that today isn’t within the remit of the attorney general, so the police prosecuted them. 

There are also ongoing investigations because that inquiry established where further investigations should be conducted, and there were also areas where we as the police and the attorney general felt further investigations should be carried out. And that’s what’s happening right now.

MX: But in the Vitals case, when the charges were brought to court, many were left bewildered. How you did not lead the prosecution and left your men dealing Malta’s top defence lawyers.  Wasn’t it your duty to be there?

AG: The role of the police commissioner is a strategic one, guiding his team. I’ve always done that, even in this case. The fact I wasn’t physically present doesn’t mean that our men people weren’t receiving guidance. In the end...

MX: ...but you know how things develop in court. You have to react there and then.

AG: Technology facilitates communication, and I’m pleased to say that in the police force, we have professionals. The police force is not run by the commissioner alone.  We have a whole hierarchy. God forbid we get to a situation where the commissioner has to give instructions all the time.

MX: The Police Transformation Strategy is set to expire next year. How has it transformed the police force?

AG: For the first time in over 200 years, the police force has a strategy showing us where we want to go and how.

Our ultimate aim is to strengthen legitimacy.  We do not operate in a vacuum but we have a society that’s constantly changing. The only constant is change and the worst thing we can do is bury our heads. 

Four years after publishing that strategy, 70% of it has been implemented. We are reaping the results with crime rates that are among the lowest in history and this is not coincidental.

MX: I started the interview by asking you to name the police force’s greatest successes since you took over. What has been your biggest disappointment so far?

AG: Honestly, there are days when we recognise shortcomings we could have done without. However, despite the daily challenges and struggles, I’m very pleased with the work of our members.

I want to thank them because, unfortunately, attention is often drawn to us when things go wrong. Yet, as long as the world remains calm, as long as we’re saving lives, and as long as our work continues, the positive aspects often go unnoticed.

So, I extend my gratitude for the many instances when they are quietly performing impeccable work – work that continues to position Malta among the safest countries in the world.

This isn’t just my opinion; it’s reflected in the reviews, the feedback from foreign missions in our country, and the travel advice from other nations, which consistently states that Malta is a safe place to live, work and visit.

The interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.