Policing a small nation : practices in Malta

Abstract

Crime prevention is a subject popularly discussed in police studies as it has always been regarded as the fulcrum of police activities (Filstad & Amp; Karp, 2020). From its inception, Sir Robert Peel, regarded as the father of modern-day policing, put crime prevention and deterrence as the foremost policing strategy that should be employed. Throughout the decades that followed, the strategies of how the police prevent crime have changed. This is especially true in the last decades when research has developed rapidly and has influenced police authorities immensely (Dempsey, Frost & Carter, 2019). The development of different strategies and policing models is influenced by events that shape the community in which service is discharged. In turn, these different policing models influence how service is then discharged. This makes the knowledge of these models and how they interact, essential in the further development of effective policing (Newburn, 2008). This study will examine these strategies and policing models and highlight the best practices in policing. This would be achieved through the examination of the available literature and by comparing how and why these models developed. Local knowledge would be assimilated as research into police models used in Malta are scarce. This examination should serve as a contribution to criminology as it would identify the policing models used internationally and compare those employed in Malta to determine which strategies could be the best fit to prevent crime in Malta.