A Force To Be Proud Of

A Force To Be Proud Of

It’s just over 30 degrees Celsius and it is only just gone 9am. I’m sweating buckets and wanting to dive into the nearest swimming pool yet the man in front of me seems to be as cool as you like. The man in question is Inspector Anthony Agius – head of the Maltese mobile police fleet.

 

‘I’ve done over 32 years of service with the force’, the inspector tells me. With many an interview under his police belt it is now his turn to be grilled – by me. I was invited to GHQ, Florianna for the open day. Surrounded by marching police bands, horse displays and classic police vehicles of days gone by, I can’t help but glance over at the mid-eighties Ford Granada in black. It has a flag on the grill and would once ferry the high members of state to and from appointments. I recognise this not only because it is British but that my late Father had one. With its 2.8 litre petrol engine is was good fun riding through the countryside of the UK in it. And it is here Malta’s ‘love affair’ with Ford really began. I ask why Ford, ‘One of the reasons is that the parts are cheaper and easy to get hold of’ replies the inspector.

 

Fast forward (excuse the pun) nearly 30 years and there are a new set of Ford’s catching my eye – the new Mobile Squad cars. Recently purchased by the Maltese government in a €1.22m budget these fast response cars are designed to get anywhere within a matter of minutes. The sole aim of them is to tackle violent and sometimes armed crime – something that has recently been big news in Malta.

 

I meet Sgt Nicky Farrugia – he’s an officer with years of experience with the squad - he takes me through what they carry onboard. From powerful torches, road signs and a rifle there is one thing that catches my attention, the Taser. The X26 is used by police forces around the world and can be used to deploy of 50,000 volts of electricity via two pins shot into any one deemed violent or threatening. Instantly disabling the muscles temporarily in order to make a quick arrest.

 

With a total of over 23 brand new police cars on the streets and having seen the traditional white and blue livery I ask the inspector, why silver? ‘We chose the colour silver as this has a higher heat resistance and it reflects our new blue livery better’. The predecessor Ford Focus from 2006/8 opts for the darker blue and sits next to the latest model on the fleet. It is clear he is right. Inspector Agius mainly handled the whole project from import to creating the livery on the side of the cars you see today.

 

They are not short on power either. Packing over 120bhp from a 1.6 petrol engine (yes, 1.6) this has to be Ford’s best engine yet. OK, it does not sound a lot compared to some vehicles with blue lights but ask yourself this, does Malta really need anything more powerful? And you will hear and see them coming. Slim line blue lights sit on the roof in a T-bar with integrated spot lamps and mini strobes in the grill ensure you can see them coming. With a 100 Watt siren to boot there is no doubt you will hear them!

 

Handling I am assured is superb. ‘We had a driving course from an Italian rally driver who really knew how to get the most out of the cars when we test drove them!’ says inspector Agius with a smile in his voice. Anyone who has driven in Italy probably knows what he is talking about!

 

Interior is no different to a family based saloon expect for the police radio, GPS unit and soon to be ANPR (Automatic Number Plate Recognition) something that the UK is already using to tackle car crime. The only difference is your boot is probably used to shopping and not a taser.

 

Joining the mobile squad are 2 new panel vans – acting as mobile police stations that will soon could be upgraded to command units. Four Land Rovers (partly funded by the EU) ensure access to made easy to remote areas each with a powerful 8.4 KVA generator. They can go where the two new flat bed Iveco floodlight trucks cannot.

 

Having worked with a Roads Policing Unit back in the UK what I saw on this day really has brought us into a new and modern crime-fighting fleet. Gone are the faded blue lights of some cars that have clocked up many miles (some over 300,000).  In place is a squad ready and fit to tackle the crimes of the 21 Century.

 

The public gave mixed reactions when the fleet upgrade was announced in the beginning of May 2012 – could the money have been better spent on the ambulance service for instance or used to pay for police overtime. After seeing first hand the work of these new vehicles and the dedicated proud people who use them we as a nation should be proud too.

 

Ben Glover is a freelance writer and broadcaster. Ben presents ‘Brunch to Lunch’ 130pm-330pm weekdays and the Hot 30 Countdown Sunday’s from 1230pm on 89.7 Bay.

 

Article seen in the latest editiong of Wheelspin magazine or www.wheelspin.com.mt