Police Commissioner Lawrence Cutajar said on Friday that the police were making good progress in the fight against drugs and organised crime. 

Addressing a medal ceremony for long-serving officers, Mr Cutajar said a long career in policing took its toll on both officers and their families. 

The Police Commissioner said a motivated police force was vital to help win the fight against crime. 

The police were investing in improving the infrastructure of police stations and were working on a new modern station in Marsascala. 

Gone were the days when district police were treated as “second division” officers who inherited old cars, Mr Cutajar said. 

The Commissioner vowed to continue working on streamlining overtime payments to officers, acknowledging that these payments at times took too long to process. 

He said plans were in place to extend the community policing project to four other localities, after a successful trial in Mellieħa. 

Home Affairs Minister Michael Farrugia thanked officers for their work, which he said was often unfairly criticised. 

Dr Farrugia said statistics for 2018 showed an 8% drop in crime. 

Home Affairs Minister Michael Farrugia (left) during the medal ceremony.

The police, he said, needed concrete evidence before charging people in court. 

Dr Farrugia said the police were targets of hate speech. The newly set up hate speech unit was there to educate people about the laws against such speech. 

He reiterated that the unit would not be there to conduct witch-hunts and stifle free speech. 

Turning to Sunday’s riot at the Ħal Far open centre, Dr Farrugia praised the police’s measured response to the incident, which did not result in any deaths or major injuries. 

Dr Farrugia said that prior to 2013, there were instances where even a peaceful protest led to police injuries, and similar incidents often resulted in migrants, police and soldiers all being injured. 

He hit out at those who used the riot to “vomit” on foreigners. 

The Police Commissioner and Corps as a whole had also been the target of such “vomit”, Dr Farrugia continued. 

“This is not the nation and people I believe in. The nation I believe in is a welcoming and loving one”, he said.