The Home Affairs Ministry is sticking to its guns on the decision to close the Mellieħa police station, saying residents have been better served since the introduction of community policing a year ago.
Replying to questions from Times of Malta, a spokeswoman noted the station closure had led to more officers on the beat, more frequent patrols and higher satisfaction levels among the public.
The issue was raised a few days ago by opposition whip and former Mellieħa mayor Robert Cutajar, who voiced the concerns of a number of constituents who discovered that the police station was no longer open.
In a letter to Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri and Police Commissioner Angelo Gafà, Cutajar called for the decision to be reversed, saying a locality with a population in excess of 10,000 people required the presence of police officers on a 24-hour basis.
Residents who spoke to Times of Malta, but preferred to remain anonymous, heaped praise on the team of officers performing community policing but expressed concern about doing away with the station completely.
“Though police reports can be filed online or even over the phone, there might be situations whereby the aggrieved person or the victim would feel safer actually meeting a police officer.
“In the latter case residents have no option but go to the Qawra police station,” a concerned resident remarked.
However, the ministry is insisting that in a survey carried out by the University of Malta among Mellieħa residents, the level of satisfaction with policing in this locality was higher than in other places.
The survey also showed that people wanted more police on the beat.
A spokeswoman pointed out that in the first year of the community policing service, launched on August 7, 2019, there had been 2,585 foot patrol hours, officers attended 903 incidents, issued 470 tickets for contraventions including the enforcement of COVID regulations, and made nine arrests.
Patrols are also carried out by the Rapid Intervention Unit and other sections as required.
Under the community policing system, officers can be contacted over their mobile phone or even through a dedicated Facebook page which at the moment has 1,900 members.
The ministry said that intercoms were being installed across police stations to enable callers to make direct contact with the control room at the police depot.
Reports can also be filed through the 112MT app, via e-mail on pulizija@gov.mt or by phone on 2294 0000.
Through this strategy the Mellieħa community had easier access to the force than ever before, the ministry said.
However, the ministry did not say whether other police stations would be closed, given plans to expand community policing to other areas.