The legal amendments that will toughen the penalties for those who attack public officials have been passed by Parliament. Amendments that mean that no case where a person has assaulted a police officer or public official while performing their duties should leave the Court with a suspended sentence while we are toughening fines and prison sentences to allow the Court to be tougher where it feels the need to do so.
During the Parliamentary process, Minister Byron Camilleri explained these amendments as a strengthened tool for the Court to work, always according to the particular circumstances of that case, and that above all they are sending a strong message in favour of our law enforcement forces, in favour of esteem towards uniform and discipline.
But he also spoke in favor of the need to, in parallel, create prevention by cultivating a culture of respect, so that we need to enforce these laws as little as possible.
The Minister explained that in the last four years, we have seen how violence against the Police has decreased by 67%, also because we have invested in them and in the resources they use. However, this has not stopped the Government from bringing forward these legal amendments. “It would have been easy to condemn only the last cases we had, but for us even if there is one more case of an officer who went out to carry out his duty and was assaulted, for us it would not be acceptable. Therefore, with these legal amendments that will come into force we are increasing the deterrent.”
“Therefore, these legal amendments are another clear signal in favour of the work of the law enforcement forces, in favour of discipline. The amendments are combined with the investment we have made and are making in the Disciplined Forces. With new collective and sectoral agreements, we have improved the conditions of workers. With them, continuous recruitments and other initiatives to incentivise those who will join or remain in the respective body. With an investment in resources, today the police on the street not only have all the necessary tools but also have tools that they did not have before such as body cams. In addition to this, we have invested in more training, direct investment in the worker such as new uniforms that are safer and more comfortable for those who are working, after consultation with the police themselves,” stressed Minister Camilleri.
The Minister concluded, “These legal amendments combine with the decisions we have taken that today place our officers in a better position to carry out their duties. With the Government’s commitment it is clear, in favour of the worker, in support of the Forces of Order, in favour of discipline and respect for the uniform.”
The legal amendments as passed by Parliament are as follows:
- When the offence is an insult, threat or personal injury, the minimum fine will increase from €800 to €1,200. The maximum fine will increase from €5,000 to €7,500.
- When the attack or resistance with violence is committed by one or two persons, the prison sentence will be increased from a minimum of six months to a minimum of one year and from a maximum of two years to a maximum of four years while the minimum fine will be increased from €4,000 to €6,000 and the maximum will be increased from €10,000 to €15,000.
- When the attack or resistance with violence is committed by three or more people, the prison sentence will increase from a minimum of nine months to a minimum of one and a half years and from a maximum of three years to a maximum of six years while the minimum fine will increase from €5,000 to €7,500 and the maximum will increase from €15,000 to €22,500.
- When a weapon is used in the attack or resistance, the prison sentence will increase from a minimum of one year to a minimum of one and a half years and from a maximum of four years to a maximum of six years while the minimum fine will increase from €8,000 to €12,000 and the maximum will increase from €20,000 to €30,000.
- When these offences include public violence, the prison sentence will be increased from a minimum of two years to a minimum of three years and from a maximum of five years to a maximum of seven years while we will also introduce fines, with the minimum being €10,000 and the maximum being €25,000.
