There is widespread outrage every time a murder occurs. At times, the sentiment is such that it is rightly expressed through public manifestations, as happened in the case of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, the apparent racist killing of Lassana Cisse and the murders of two women earlier this year.
Perhaps the only mitigating factor in such instances is when the suspected perpetrators are soon traced and taken to court. The responsibility to investigate and apprehend the main suspects falls squarely on the police.
Judging by their performance this year, they deserve to be commended – the main suspects in the three murders in 2022 were arraigned within days.
Taxi owner Mario Farrugia, 62, of Pembroke, was last seen at his home on March 28. His body, bearing over 40 stab wounds, was found in the boot of his car in a Qormi valley three days later. Elliot Paul Busuttil, 38, was charged with the murder last week and more arraignments may follow.
Rita Ellul, a 49-year-old mother of Iklin, was found dead in an apartment in Gozo on February 26. At first, it appeared she died of natural causes but an autopsy revealed she had, in fact, been asphyxiated and her partner, Ghanaian Lawrence Abina, 30, was accused of wilful homicide.
The first murder for 2022 occurred on New Year’s Day at night, the body of Polish national Paulina Dembska, 29, having been found at Independence Gardens, Sliema, in the early hours of January 2. Abner Aquilina, 20, of Żejtun, has been charged with her rape and murder.
Though the degree of difficulty varies, solving a crime like murder is rarely straightforward, even if it may appear otherwise.
True, forensic science has improved and the police have at their disposal sophisticated equipment to help them in their investigations.
However, criminals too have become more professional, especially if gangs or organised crime are involved. Also, by employing top-notch lawyers able to exploit all legal provisions meant to protect an individual’s human rights, villains make the life of investigators that much harder.
There have been instances when a case against a suspect suffered a serious setback because a warrant to tap the individual’s telephone had not been sought or the period indicated had not been extended.
Prosecutions also collapse because the suspect is not informed about the right to have the assistance of a legal counsel or because of some minor flaw during interrogation.
In this sense, human rights know no boundaries and they apply to the victim and the suspect alike, especially during investigation and court proceedings when one continues to be considered innocent.
This means that, often, the police are working against the odds. At times, they even appear to have to fight a system that, to many, especially the victims and their loved ones, seems to defend the accused more than the society that law and justice are meant to protect.
A well-functioning police force is integral to the rule of law, so it needs and deserves all the support and encouragement it can get from society, the legislator and the government.
On the other hand, society expects the police to make the best use of all the legal, human, scientific and intelligence resources at their disposal to prevent tragic crimes from occurring.
The victims of domestic violence, for example, often do not live long enough to make a second call to a police station. The arm of the law must be both long and strong.