Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/488485
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 1 APRIL 2015 7 News The Malta Environment and Planning Authority (MEPA) has been requested by Government to initiate a partial review of the South Malta Local Plan for Paola in relation to the Pace Grasso Opportunity Area. Prior to this partial review, in terms of the Environment and Development Planning Act (2010), MEPA is hereby publishing the proposed objective which will serve to guide revisions to the current policy provisions of policies SMSO01 and SMPA08 in the South Malta Local Plan of 2006. The proposed objective is: To facilitate the development of a community centre in the core of the urban area with a priority for green public open spaces, the provision of facilities for health services and for persons with special needs together with supporting ancillary development. Individuals and organisations are being invited to send their submissions on this objective. Representations are to be made in writing to the: Director of Planning, SMLP - Pace Grasso Opportunity Area MEPA , St. Francis Ravelin, Floriana or through e-mail: pacegrasso.smlp@mepa.org.mt Submissions are to be received by the Authority by not later than 14 th April 2015. PACE GRASSO OPPORTUNITY AREA A Partial Review of the South Malta Local Plan Public Consultation St Julian's retains 'crime central' crown CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Speaking at an event marking the publica- tion of the report, Commissioner of Police Michael Cassar praised the "giant steps" in information collection, helped by the Depart- ment of Criminology at the Uni- versity of Malta. Cassar said that gone were the days of the police- man only using pen and paper, ex- plaining that the role of police has become much more intelligence- based. Intelligence-gathering proce- dures are being updated and part of the process involves interaction with victims, suspects and wit- nesses, said the Commissioner. "We will not remain passive." Report author Formosa stressed that it was not enough to look at the numbers, one had to find the reasons behind them through analysis. "Knowledge should not remain in academia but be ported to real life. People will be practically living online within three years. The police must also be online," said Formosa, predicting the use of so-called "big data" gathered from mobile phones as part of the data set. Another possibility was the tag- ging and tracking of elderly de- mentia patients. This would free up resources for other duties. "At the moment, if a dementia suffer- er goes missing, the whole district will be looking for them." The important part, he said, was the transition from "information" to "knowledge". Analysis must be active and requires an increase in real-time data processing, which requires a strong data processing method. He called for a strength- ening of the statistics processing unit, cautioning that the raw data must be reliable. In his address, the Minister for Home Affairs and National Secu- rity, Carmelo Abela thanked the police for their work and efforts towards evolution, saying that the police force itself must be proac- tive and not reactive in the face of new challenges. Abela told the Police present that the next step is to go from information gather- ing to action and anticipate crime and pointed out that the govern- ment is "actively working to as- sist victims of crime with its draft Victims of Crime Bill." Abela said a consultation proc- ess with police is underway to identify the strategic changes necessary. "Every policeman has a part to play in this process," he said. He explained that commu- nity policing was a fundamental principle in tackling crime. Giv- ing an example of measures taken to make this direction a reality, he pointed to developments in Swieqi, which suffers a "criminal- ity overspill" from neighbouring Paceville. Abela said he recognised the fears and concerns of families in the localities and announced that human resources at the Swieqi police station were to be strength- ened, adding that his aim was to do the same in all other localities where this is needed. Police sensitivity criticised as domestic violence reports shoot up to 1,050 TIM DIACONO REPORTS to police of domestic vio- lence increased tenfold between 2007 and 2014, amounting to a total of 1,048 last year. Shocking as the figure is, the reality might well be even darker. "A third of domestic violence cases don't get reported," family lawyer and MP Deborah Schembri told Mal- taToday, while criticising the manner some police handle the reports that do come through. "Police aren't always well-equipped to deal with the emotional side of do- mestic violence, their reports aren't al- ways well-written, and the accused of- ten gets away with it," she said. "Some victims report domestic violence to the police, return to the police station to ask for the case to be dropped, then file another report, and ask for that to be dropped. Police might not work so seriously on cases that are continu- ously filed and dropped." The police problem, she warned, is even trickier for male victims. "It's not easy for a man to file a do- mestic violence report and see the police giggling at him," Schembri said. "It's even harder if the victim already knows the policemen or other people at the station personally." "Women I met during a recent con- ference of domestic violence victims told me that the police hadn't taken their reports seriously," lawyer Ruth Farrugia said. "I'm not saying that no police take domestic violence reports seriously, but it is an issue that must be explored further. "However, many women are afraid of reporting their husbands to the po- lice. It takes a lot of courage and deter- mination to leave an abusive partner, particularly if he is threatening you or your children." National Council of Women presi- dent Mary Gaerty cited the recent murder of Silvana Muscat – her hus- band is a main suspect. "She had already filed three do- mestic violence reports against him," Gaerty pointed out. "Something went wrong along the way." However, Police Commissioner Michael Cassar dismissed concerns that domestic violence insensitivity is endemic within the force. "People often think that the prob- lem lies with the police from A to Z, but I often receive messages of thanks about police who go out of their way to help them, even after hours, " Cas- sar said. "The situation isn't perfect, but some people only see the negative aspects." Of course, the buck doesn't stop with the police. "Domestic violence victims may be ashamed of admitting their reality to family and friends, they may be over- come by a sense of powerlessness, they may be afraid of the physical and financial consequences of com- ing forward, or they may be unwill- ing to disrupt the family, particularly their children's lives," Equality Com- missioner Renee Laiviera said. "Women who do report their hus- bands often end up at shelters, but can only stay there for a few months," Gaerty said. "If they are unable to stand up on their own two feet by that time, then they'll become effec- tively homeless. Many of them end up returning to their abusive part- ners." "Not all medical professionals are well-trained to identify victims of physical abuse," Schembri said. "Not all victims tell medical staff how they received their injuries, but some in- juries might be indicative of abuse." 'Rampant' problem of psychological abuse 454 reports that were filed with po- lice last year specifically pertained to cases of psychological abuse, almost half of the total domestic abuse re- ports and 59 more than were reported in 2013. "Psychological abuse is rampant on the island," Schembri said. "In many ways, it's even worse than physi- cal abuse because it's less noticeable and forms part of a power dynamic that tends to build up over time. The abuser doesn't usually go whole hog from the start, and the victim tends to make excuses and hide the abuse." She said that these are day-in-day- out forms of abuse that include domi- nant husbands telling their wives that they are only good for the bedroom, if that, and throwing away dinner before making their wives cook them anoth- er meal. "Sometimes, children end up bully- ing their mothers because that's what they're used to seeing from their fa- thers," she added. "We're so used to hearing about do- mestic abuse nowadays though, that we no longer get shocked when some- body says that they've been abused."