The impact of community policing in Malta as a crime preventative measure

Abstract

This research project delves into the examination of whether the implementation of community policing in Malta is acting as a crime prevention measure. On such a note, this research focuses mainly on the modus operandi implemented by the Maltese Community Police Officers within distinct zones as crime deterrence agents. Additionally, the response of the citizens to such a crime-preventative measure is also analyzed from a local policing point of view. Further to that, this research project will also go through particular foreign approaches that are implemented within this style of policing, and hence, whether such methods could be integrated within the Malta Community Policing Standard Operating Procedures. The research design of this project is of a qualitative nature focusing on semi-structured interviews with five participants from the Malta Police Force. This has resulted in a number of themes once data analysis was conducted, thus aiding the researcher to analyze in depth if community policing is an effective tool to prevent crime within the local scenario.