The government appears to have learnt nothing from the inappropriateness of a press conference given by the Prime Minister just as the police and the Armed Forces of Malta raided locations around Malta that led to the arraignment of three men over the murder of journalist/blogger Daphne Caruana Galizia.

The reason for the press event, according to Joseph Muscat, was that the operation was too big to keep secret. Nobody contests that argument, considering the unfolding events in Marsa. What many dispute, however, is the fact it was the Prime Minister who had to make the announcement. It smacked of opportunism.

Against the background of an ongoing debate on the rule of law, or lack thereof, the raids and the arraignments were an ideal opportunity for the police to come across as an efficient organisation that acts independently of the government. The police should have called the press conference and the Prime Minister could have reacted.

The Prime Minister seems to think the corps is just another government department that should act according to his bidding and so do his Cabinet colleagues.

The Home Affairs Ministry thought it fit to issue a short statement a few days ago to say that the police had broken a human trafficking ring. The “authorities”, it said, were in the process of finding shelter for the victims.

When this newspaper followed up the story, sources had said the “authorities” may have helped the traffickers. The government denied this that very day. Again, it spoke on behalf of the police, except this time it went further.

It said: “The government can confirm there were no public officials involved.” With the police still investigating the case, ostensibly independently of the government, such a statement could never be made unless the government was privy to the details of the investigation. It is exactly how things should not be said or done.

The police force has not fared well since Labour came to office in 2013. The appointment of successive police commissioners, and the controversies they evoked, have not enabled the corps to come into its own. Then, Ms Caruana Galizia was murdered, raising the issue of the rule of law both in this country and, to the government’s shame, internationally.

Having a delegation from the European Parliament visiting Malta to examine the situation on the rule of law is very disturbing, even more so when the MEPs leave unimpressed. Yet, with foreign help, the police have managed to arraign the Bidnija murder suspects in a relatively short time. This is a feather in their cap and the government should stop trying to get credit for it.

The Caruana Galizia bombing investigation was an opportunity for the police to show they can mean business. Instead, the whole thing has been usurped by the government, playing to the crowd as the family of the murdered journalist looked on helplessly. The government should have stayed away from this case, and from any other, on a point of principle, more so because the Bidnija murder is far from solved.

Still, it appears the government intends to do more of this, to ride on police successes to win political kudos. It is the worst policy to adopt, at the expense of the country’s already battered institutions.

This is a Times of Malta print editorial