Of course that’s what he meant…
The latest edition of the programme INDEPTH on independent.com.mt proved to be an opportunity for the public at large to peep into Malta’s Police Force and listen on the frustration felt by the officers who, more often than not, receive the flak from the general public when there isn’t much they can do to change the institution they work for. Many remarked, in the online comments board that POU-GWU President Sandro Camilleri, the guest on the show, was out of his depth and hardly the man to speak to on such matters. This newspaper thinks otherwise. Mr. Camilleri has risen from the lowest ranks in the force to that of inspector.
He is academically trained but most importantly, he is well connected to all tiers within the police force and likes to speak his mind on practically everything that goes on in the corridors of the police headquarters. During INDEPTH, he came across as being apolitical and highly concerned on the future of the police force. Which makes it quite weird that after acclaiming the programme and the presenter, his union came out crying foul over a headline printed in this newspaper that highlighted the inspector’s plight that ‘political influence is huge and it hinders police investigations’.
The question fired at him, more than once,
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was very clear. Is political influence, by both parties, prevalent in the police force? Mr. Camilleri shot back by describing the problem as being “huge, very big.” Does it hinder police investigations? “Yes it does,” he insisted. In retrospect, the inspector thought that he was being misquoted, which makes one wonder whether he was fully aware of what was he replying to? His union said, in hindsight, that its president referred to police officers who exert political influence when on duty. How cool is that for a union whose job is to protect its members from, amongst other things, political influence?
The inspector was downright honest on INDEPTH and we all know what he meant. The great thing about TV is that you cannot hide your true feelings once you lay bare your expressions. Mr Camilleri’s tenacity, body language and passion for the police force all pointed towards one conclusion. He took the liberty to tell politicians from both sides of the spectrum to back-off. He must have also jumped on the opportunity to send a cryptic message to his superiors that they need to strengthen their resolve and hold tight against political influence.
Interestingly the right of reply issued by the Ministry for Home Affairs didn’t at all concord with that issued a day earlier by the POU-GWU. The Ministry was very cautious when claiming that it (the Ministry) doesn’t exert any political pressure on the police force.
This newspaper has no reason to doubt Minister Carmelo Abela’s good intentions. After all, it was under his wing that the police force regained some form of credibility following the fiascos it inherited from former Minister Mallia. Of course the ministry can only speak on its own behalf and cannot claim to know what happens between the Police commissioner and the Office of the Prime Minister or any other Ministry for that matter.
Never, in its right of reply, did the Ministry misinterpret or doubt Inspector Camilleri’s words said during INDEPTH. It just felt it should disown and refute what he said. In its reply, the Ministry, inadvertently, exposed a reality that political influence within the police force needn’t come from top to bottom but could possibly be a bottom-up syndrome whereby high ranking officers make gains out of political influence they personally enjoy, leading to a tense atmosphere at their place of work by acting invincible in front of their colleagues. If this is the case, then the powers that be need to exert law and order within the ranks to avoid further embarrassment and stimulate a healthy, strong and free police force.