Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/224217
15 News maltatoday, SUNDAY, 8 DECEMBER 2013 2013 of a crime hot spot Bormla group's shared belief in its conjoint capabilities to organize and execute courses of action." Collective efficacy, the study notes, is difficult to achieve in areas where population turnover is high, and as a result social networks are sparse and ill-defined. And yet, the already densely populated harbour area continued to be viewed as a convenient area to site all Malta's social housing continued till long after the war. "Other social housing projects were built after independence (1964). The majority of social housing units in the Maltese Islands are concentrated in Valletta and Bormla, according to statistics derived from the Maltese Lands Department. In fact, 8.8% of the social housing units in the Maltese Islands are to be found there..." More recently, the privatisation and dramatic downsizing of the same dockyard that had caused the early exodus, also resulted in relatively high levels of unemployment in the locality, which persist to this day. Taken together, these two factors have contributed to considerable exasperation among the residents, George Busuttil "Residents felt that the crime rate was high because the police rarely made their presence felt in the locality. The respondents lamented the fact that the police were rarely seen patrolling the area and that they only turned up when something went extremely wrong. They felt that they were inadequately protected by the police because as a community, as they reported, 'We don't count.'" Street by street Alison Zerafa Civelli which the report hints may itself be part of the problem vis-a-vis 'crimes against persons'. "Long-term residents regard the people who move into Bormla as 'outsiders' and a 'scourge' since, according to them, their behaviour gives the place a bad name. The 'locals' blame policy makers for building flats in an area which was already overpopulated and then 'dumping' problem families there." All things told, this aspect of the study seems to forcefully illustrate the well-known but little understood truism that 'poverty breeds crime'. "Neighbourhoods with a concentration of socially disadvantaged people living in bad social conditions tend to have a concentration of angry and frustrated residents who might express this frustration by becoming physically violent. This statement might explain why the crime rate against the person in Bormla was higher than the national average." Adding to this sense of frustration is the low response level by the police to reported crime, which is a frequently-cited complaint among Bormla residents. Under the microscope, Bormla's crime profile seems to be surprisingly localised for such a small city. "Offence hotspots in Bormla are spread across the urban area but concentrations exist, located in an arc around the church, with two distinct clusters: one around the southeastern bastions, and another closer to the Bormla primary school and the Verdala social housing estate." The study observes that "criminal activity in 2009 took place in areas where there was a high concentration of residents living in social housing units or in privately rented accommodation (for example, an area called Fuq San Pawl). This, therefore, leads one to conclude that a lower rate of collective efficacy exists in areas where residents might not have had the time or capacity to form social networks with other people living in the area since they are constantly changing abode." Again, however, there are complications. Contacted separately, social worker George Busuttil – chairperson of prisoners' rights group Mid-Dlam Ghad Dawl, which runs a homeless shelter in Bormla – echoes a prevalent complaint among residents cited in the same study, regarding a factor which may artifically inflate the city's crime rates. "Most people arraigned in court over criminal offences and listed as 'Bormlizi' are not true born and bred 'Bormlizi'," he explains. "For example we as a Foundation have a shelter in Bormla and cater for those leaving prison without a place to live. Immediately these change their ID cards and list Bormla as their place of residence. After leaving our shelter most of them do not bother to change their ID again so if they are rearrested they will be listed as 'Bormlizi'." The reason for the change to ID cards is once again pragmatic. By registering their address as a homeless shelter, the holder automatically becomes eligible to state handouts. And by retaining the same official address even after leaving the shelter, the same people continue to be eligible for the same benefits: thus creating a 'demand', as it were, for a Bormla ID card among the category likeliest to resort to crime. Among these are ex-convicts who tend to gravitate towards Bormla either to avail of this same benefit, or simply because the rents there are cheaper. A vicious circle All this, the study suggests, adds up to a vicious circle: "This concentra- Charles Miceli tion of ex-offenders in the area may be high also because it has been attested that materially deprived people are more likely to be arrested, to be charged by the police, to be denied bail, to appear in court without adequate legal representation, and therefore more likely to be convicted." One manisfestation of this situation involves the proportionally very high levels of problem drug use in the area – a phenomenon which is unversally associated with unemployment and substandard social conditions. The second highest reported crime concerned neglect of children; and worryingly, the study suggests a correlative between these two problem trends. "It was surprising to note that residents were quite concerned about the neglect of children and young people living in the area, which they felt was almost as prevalent as drug-related crime... In fact, the local authorities were at one time very concerned about the fact that some of these children and adolescents were being used by drug pushers to deliver drugs." Charles Miceli, who runs a rehabilitation centre for drug addicts, concurs with the study's conclusions that the prevailing social conditions represent a vicious circle from which it is very difficult to emerge. "In 20 years working with these cases I can confirm that most of the people who come to us with drug problems tend to come from the same areas and to know each other," he said, acknowledging Bormla as one of these areas. Regarding the ID situation, he cites it as an example of how society sometimes unwittingly channels people into a life of crime. "Theoretically, falsely declaring your address on your ID is a crime, though admittedly not a serious one. Still, the situation is that some people feel they need to lie about their residency just to get social benefits.. And once they've already committed a petty crime, some might say, I may as well commit more crimes. That is what society is teaching them: they feel they have to resort to crime, just to get the basics that they need." The road ahead Though useful to identify the dynamics of the problems involved, it goes beyond the academic study's remit to propose any form of solution. But Bormla's mayor Alison Zerafa Civelli, who acknowledges the main thrust of the study's findings, has a few ideas of what can be done. Taking her cue from the geographical differences in crime prevalence between Bormla's small but distinct neighbourhoods, she calls for for a change in government housing policy as a matter of urgency. "When you look at crime in Bormla you will see that some areas are worse than others. The worst areas are the areas where government or private landlords rent out dilapidated apartments very cheaply. The less problematic areas are where investment has been made in building better quality residences which are put up for sale. Things will begin to improve when government stops renting out residences in Bormla for next to nothing, and instead puts up apartments for sale, even if cheaply." This, she adds, will encourage people to become home-owners, which in turn implies investment, security and also a sense of ownership over the area which may in time address some of the same problems identified in Bormla's crime profile.