Previous administrations had not changed the way police commissioners are appointed for fear of “losing their grip” over the country’s institutions, Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri said.  

He was commenting ahead of a debate set to be held in Parliament today over proposed changes to the method of appointing police chiefs.  

Currently, it is the prime minister’s sole prerogative to appoint the person who leads the police force. 

Under the proposed new process, applicants will be screened by a public sector body and people from outside the police force will be eligible for the top post. 

The Public Service Commission will select two candidates and the prime minister will then choose which one will face a grilling in Parliament. 

The House will then vote to approve or reject that candidate. 

The system falls short of the one proposed by the Opposition which would have seen the sensitive role approved by a two-thirds parliamentary majority. 

What the Venice Commission said about reforming Malta's police force.

The new mechanism to appoint the police commissioner after a public call does appears to tally with the specific recommendations found in a report by constitutional experts on what is known as the Venice Commission.

It has however drawn criticism by legal scholar Kevin Aquilina and judge Giovanni Bonello, with both highlighting shortcomings in the revised method.  

The proposed new system was announced by Prime Minister Robert Abela last month in the wake of the resignation of former commissioner Lawrence Cutajar.  He had been the fifth police commissioner since Labour swept to power in 2013.  

Dr Camilleri said it was “an important first step to bring about much-needed change in the police force”.

“This will be the first time in Malta’s history that the police commissioner will be chosen after a public call. By changing the way the police commissioner is appointed, we are increasing the level of scrutiny in the selection process for this pivotal role in the Police Force,” he said. 

The government, the minister added, was implementing the change that past administrations had been reluctant to make.