Policing terrorism in Malta

Abstract

This article analyzes the alertness and capabilities of the Maltese security forces in countering terrorist acts and managing the potential risks of terrorism. For numerous reasons, terrorism is one of the central issues of various governments, inspiring a boom in academic research on terrorism and counter-terrorism. However, these studies are still at their genesis, especially in the Maltese Islands. Undisputedly, international situations such as the 9/11 attacks in the US, the Madrid bombings in 2004, and the London bombings 2005, dictated the endorsement of numerous provisions on these islands. Nonetheless~ such provisions still raise questions like: ''How do Maltese authorities police terrorism'. This paper explores the standards of practice employed by the local authorities, including training routines, security and preventive tactics, intranational cooperation between different entities, and mitigating forces in case of eventual terrorist attacks. The results of this study are presented after exploring the terrorist attacks that took place in Malta in the last century, the endorsed legal provisions, and. a description of the entities that participated in this study.