Malta Police launch new website, Internet-based police reports

Justice and Home Affairs Minister Tonio Borg yesterday inaugurated the Malta Police’s new website www.pulizija.gov.mt at the Floriana GHQ. The new service allows the general public to lodge reports to the Police through the Internet.
According to statistics published by the National Office of Statistics, almost a third of the Maltese population has access to the Internet. This is a confirmation of how in the last years, the use of new information and communications technology has radically changes the way we live.
The fact that such a high percentage of the population has access to the Internet and is using is at an important means of communication, has encouraged the Police to examine the new possibilities of communication with community. One of these new initiatives is online reporting, a service intended to facilitate communication with the citizen. The new system can be a new tool which serves to improve the changes in information between the community and the Police.
The new system will offer new facilities to the public, amongst which are: reporting small crimes, for example vandalism. These crime must not be a threat to life, involve no physical harm and the amounts of robbery or burglary have to be small fiscal amounts; reporting lost objects, the amount of which must not exceed Lm100; demand information from the Police through the CMRU; give information to Police on cases or on crimes; pass on complaints on Police service.
The aim of this project is to bring together the community and the Police through the use of the Internet, and to improve this relation and facilitate the exchange of information which is vital for the prevention and investigation of crime.
The online police report system will not be taking the Police Incident Reporting System (PIRS) as the official mechanism to file reports, but will supplement the PIRS. Every report will be verified and validated, and then included in the PIRS which will make the report official.
Anyone who makes a report through the new system can follow the progress of their report through a password which is issued automatically with every report. The Police will also inform the complainants of the investigations. Complainants will remain anonymous and reports will be treated confidentially.