Gafa’ overruled as overtime racket police officers to be reinstated

Several police officers from the traffic section who were suspended in 2020 on half pay and charged in court over their alleged involvement in an overtime racket are expected to rejoin the force soon.

This decision follows a directive from the Office of the Prime Minister, The Shift is informed.

Despite facing intense political pressure, Police Commissioner Angelo Gafa’ has resisted the move. However, the Permanent Secretary of the Office of the Prime Minister, Joyce Cassar, who oversees human resources, has informed several suspended officers that arrangements are being made for their imminent reinstatement.

Sources close to Police Headquarters have revealed that the OPM has been urging Gafa’ to allow the officers to return, citing that too much time has elapsed since the incident and that the court has found many of the officers not guilty. Nevertheless, Gafa’ has maintained that these officers should not be reintegrated into the police force but rather reassigned to alternative roles within the public service.

In a display of political expediency, Prime Minister Robert Abela has now instructed his Permanent Secretary to initiate the process of reinstating all those officers who wish to return to the traffic section.

In 2020, following an internal investigation prompted by a whistleblower, approximately 40 traffic section officers were arrested and suspended. Many of them were later charged with fraud for claiming thousands of hours of overtime they did not actually work. The accused included senior officials of the traffic section, such as a superintendent and inspectors, who allegedly not only were aware of the racket but also organised it.

In court, it was claimed that these officers submitted overtime sheets reflecting hundreds of hours they had not worked over a three-year period.

The investigation was later expanded to include other sections of the police force where similar irregularities were suspected. Additionally, there were claims that some officers fraudulently used police fuel for their private vehicles.

In many cases, the charges against the arraigned police officers were dismissed by the court due to a lack of evidence presented by the prosecution. Other officers, including those slated for reinstatement, are still awaiting a final judgment.

This is not the first time the OPM has intervened to reinstate suspended officials accused of serious crimes.

Just before the June MEP elections, the OPM ordered Clint Axisa—a senior public officer facing charges of sexual harassment at Transport Malta—to be reassigned to a new position at Infrastructure Malta. Similar actions occurred for other public officers still facing criminal charges.

Furthermore, the government has announced that regulations will be amended to ensure that the suspension of public officers accused of criminal activities is no longer automatic but discretionary.

This change was employed to keep top civil servants, such as former Permanent Secretaries Ronald Mizzi and Joe Rapa—accused in connection with the Vitals deal—retained on the government payroll with all their benefits intact.