The Nationalist Party has said that it will reopen all police stations, employ more officers and introduce neighbourhood watch schemes if elected to government.

"Within the first 24 months in government, PN will have reopened all police stations with sufficient staff and equipment," it said.

"The government has closed more than half of police stations in Malta and Gozo, and it fails to understand that the police station is still the reference point for many people who seek assistance when they are victims of crime."

Opposition criticism of local police stations being closed dates back years, with Home Affairs minister Byron Camilleri and his predecessor Michael Farrugia having both argued that the shift is the result of a change in strategy to emphasise community policing.

Both Camilleri and Farrugia have argued that officers are now patrolling streets, where they can be of more use, rather than manning stations. 

The police force also faces recruitment issues, with figures showing that more officers have retired in the past decade than have been recruited.

Asked how PN would attract more people to a career in the force, Opposition home affairs spokesperson and MP Beppe Fenech Adami insisted that the government is failing to attract and employ enough officers because young people are discouraged by the culture of impunity in the country and by the working conditions of officers.

"Between 2020 and 2021, some 300 officers left the force. Some retired after 25 years of service, but others left before. And the government only employed a 100 in their stead," he said.

"A PN government will address injustice in the police force, provide remedies for those who suffered, improve officers' working conditions and reinstate pride in the career."

The PN also promised to issue grants for residents, especially the elderly, to install CCTV and other security systems in their homes.

Ten proposals for safer towns and villages

Fenech Adami, who was joined by PN electoral candidates Errol Cutajar, Graziella Galea and Darren Carabott, presented a list of ten proposals for safer localities on Monday, arguing that many people lived in fear in their own homes.

They said that a PN government would address crime, vandalism and delinquency in localities such as Marsa, St Paul's Bay, Sliema and St Julian's.

"Sometimes we do house visits from behind the front door, because people are afraid to even open the door," said Carabott.

Graziella Galea and Darren Carabott. Photo: PN

"Till August this year, people in Malta had already reported 2997 thefts. That means there are 12 thefts every day, an average of one every two hours," said Beppe Fenech Adami.

"We meet elderly people who are afraid to leave their homes and parents who are afraid to let their children play in public spaces. This is not acceptable."

Reacting to the PN press conference later, criminologist Saviour Formosa noted that the frequency of reported thefts was on a steady decline and reached record lows in the first eight months of this year. 

What else is the PN promising?

In addition to employing more officers, a PN government is pledging to introduce community support officers and a committee to oversee safety in playing fields.

It also wants to extend neighbourhood watch schemes.

Such schemes are run by groups of trained residents who volunteer to help keep an eye out for petty crimes, vandalism and public cleanliness in their areas.

These volunteers would be supported by official entities and trained to offer assistance to the public.

The party also pledged to introduce an app enabling people to anonymously report stalking, cyberstalking, cyberharassment, bullying, exploitation, domestic violence, physical, sexual and emotional abuse, and gender-based violence, among other crimes.

It said it would also launch an educational campaign aimed at helping the elderly learn how to use the app.

Cutajar said a PN government would empower and incentivise local councils to identify crime 'hotspots' in their localities and help them install security systems.

He said it will also address the issue of abandoned properties, which pose danger to neighbours and which, in some cases, are crime hotspots.