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. A ..
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