New police chief ‘guarantees 100%’ that all corruption allegations will be investigated
Newly-appointed Police Commissioner Angelo Gafa has given a ‘100% guarantee’ that all allegations of corruption will be investigated by the police.
He was addressing the media yesterday afternoon, hours after he was officially appointed to his new post. “You can put your minds at rest that as soon as any allegations appear we will not wait for anyone to start investigating", Gafa said after being asked by The
Malta Independent whether he would
guarantee such investigations into corruption allegations.
He stressed that the police, under his watch, will take the initiative when allegations surface.
The police have come under fire over the past years for its lack of initiative to investigate corruption allegations.
Tuesday was Gafa’s first day on the job after Parliament gave its approval to his nomination, with the Opposition boycotting the hearing. Within hours, he sat down with the media in a press conference dedicated to answering questions.
The Malta Independent also asked about concerns over the lack of prosecutions on money laundering cases, which was one of the concerns displayed by Moneyval - who will be in Malta later this year to give their final assessment, with Malta risking grey-listing if it fails.
In answer to this, Gafa said that he is conscious of the scrutiny that the police is under from Moneyval, and announced that Assistant Commissioner Alexandra Mamo will be replacing Ian Abdilla as head of the police’ Economic Crimes Unit.
He said that Mamo - who, together with Gafa had been selected by the Public Service Commission as a possible police chief - has experience in this field, is well-respected by everyone, and is a lawyer. He added that he believes that she fits all the criteria needed to head this unit.
“In no way am I casting a bad shadow on Abdilla: I worked with him for nine years, and I know how dedicated he is to his work - but we need to send a clear signal that things are going to change”, Gafa said.
This is just one change in the leadership of the Force - others are expected next week, with Gafa saying that he wanted a police force which is less “topheavy”.
Abdilla was one of the most criticised police figures in the force along with Gafa’s predecessor Lawrence Cutajar for his perceived inaction in the face of corruption and money laundering allegations which implicated high-level people in the government.
Gafa insisted when answering other questions however, that he was not casting a bad shadow on Abdilla. He did say, though, that if it transpires that any shortcomings on his part in any investigative work are found, then Abdilla would face the necessary consequences.
“I believe that the decisions you take on your first day reflect what you will do in the days, months, and hopefully years to come”, he said.
Addressing the media before facing questions, Gafa said that he will be keeping in touch with the media regularly in “both good times and bad times”, noting that increased communication is one of the things which he will be emphasising on for the renewal of the police force.
He announced that by next September, the police will have published a strategy of transformation, in recognition of the fact that the police does need to renew itself and reform.
He said that a survey last Sunday showed that 49% of the people trust the police, and said that his main focus will be on improving that statistic, adding that “police work can never be effective if it is done alone. “The people need to be with us”.
Gafa also revealed that community policing, which up until now was run on a pilot project basis, will be expanded across the country in increments. He highlighted that this is more about preventing crimes, and treating problems from their root cause.
Answering further questions, Gafa gave some of the ideas he is working on to introduce into the force. Amongst these are an antifraud and corruption policy, a reform to the role of Police CEO - with the likelihood being that this role will be renamed, and the opening of a dedicated unit for domestic violence cases - for which internal calls have already been launched.
The Force is around 5% made up of civilians, he said. “I already as CEO started breaking the mentality that a civilian only does administrative duties. Cyber crime analysts, project managers, financial crime analysts are examples of such roles, he said, while stressing the need to fill the skill gaps in the force.
“The time where a Commissioner simply chooses who to transfer and where is over. There are now internal calls and people have to be chosen through that procedure.”
He also stressed the importance of technology, and how it needs to be used more in policing.
“Covid showed us that we can handle reports online. We changed procedures for this – determining which crimes a person can report through an online system.”