Don’t give civil affairs a bad name
I am tired of reading the journals of victims who were fired by the police due to the lack of knowledge of basic concepts of Civil Law. As a practitioner, I also have the misfortune of encountering such horror stories directly from the cases I am working on.
I am not asking that the officers have a doctorate in the subject, just the most basic knowledge of the job that ensures the victim’s access to justice. And a different approach to police-public relations as well. Why we are fighting this in 2023 is beyond me.
I suppose it stems from the “us vs them” mentality within police culture: anything that doesn’t belong in the realm of criminal justice is demonized when it shouldn’t. Civil Law is often seen as a Dickensian villain rather than the access to justice it really is, and that’s not a huge understatement.
I have heard a few horror stories from stunned lawyers who recount how police officers often torpedo court orders and judgments as “not good enough”, to call legal letters “withetca paper”, or citing outdated legal concepts. Such a misconception is that victims “lose everything, even the house” if they leave the matrimonial or cohabitation home when they face a threat to life or limb in the domestic environment.
The Government can create as many Commissionerates and Support Agencies as it likes and wave specific Convention flags with gusto, but if the first line of defense remains assiduously deaf, there is a problem, Houston.
Incidentally, the UK Police College is replacing the DASH tool as an objective for 2023. The Domestic Abuse, Stalking and Honor-based violence questionnaire, which is also used in Malta, is being replaced by DARA – Domestic Abuse Risk Assessment. I’m sure it’s worth a look.
But it is not only an issue that arises exclusively in the field of domestic violence (DV). It is interesting that the Police Act lists as one of its objectives, “to promote the orderly and peaceful coexistence of all people in Malta, while due attention is paid not only to the rights of private property but also to public property.” Look at article 4d of the 2017 version of Chapter 164. Article 4 has been copied such quale from the previous Police Act, and was the main point of Strategy and Planning when it was set up and led by an Assistant Commissioner in the late 90’s.
What are the ‘private property rights’ that the Police need to know about? Apprentice inspectors are given a study section by the Faculty of Law in the basic principles of civil law and another in the prolegomena, and this has been the practice for the last ten years. There is already a body of work prepared and used by Faculty academics that can be extended to inform and educate any other grade, if only the police administration takes heed.
I suggest a very simple way forward: look at each police district and extrapolate what the main civil law issues are from a basic assessment of the landscape – is it predominantly rural? Coastal? Urban? Commercial? Are the village cores filled with buildings that predate certain rent laws? Is there any social housing that gives rise to potential eviction orders? Are there agricultural issues related to rural tenancies that lead to disputes between landlords? Or conflicts over easements? There have been homicides in the past that started from a basic civil dispute and escalated because most farmers tended to be registered hunters and owned shotguns. There is a fine line between police and civil matters that cannot be ignored.
There are other basic things missing such as the ability to read separation or cohabitation contracts, or a will.
Prolegomena is the science of law, which includes ways of legal drafting and interpretation. It is the introduction of legal language and perspective that is lacking in police training, and is often seen as a deficiency in the emotional intelligence needed to handle legal issues correctly. It affects the preparation of officers for court. Remember that a prosecuting officer is an “officer of the court” according to article 85 of the Police Act.
If Community Police Officers can do an environmental audit and come up with the best crime prevention ideas to suit the location, then why not apply the same approach to civil matters? Take into account what the topography of the district presents and start with that scenario as the starting point. There is an interesting geography of civil law that deserves to be explored. A structure is set up, complete with internal manuals and a back-up legal team such as the Prosecutions Unit that can answer any further questions.
Start anywhere, but please stop sitting on the fence. I hope it is not, once again, the usual excuse of cutting funding for political reasons, or hidden personal turf wars that are keeping proper legal training from becoming the norm for the police.