Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/570058
maltatoday, Sunday, 13 September 2015 News Swieqi gears up for neighbourhood watch Martina Borg Broken street signs, scratched cars, uncontrolled litter, vomit on people's doorsteps… not the best of starts to the day. But Swieqi's deputy mayor Justin Fenech says this is a daily reality for his town's residents. They live next door to Malta's nightlife hub, and every year this growing town – once an attractive property buy for middle-class fami- lies – suffers extreme discomfort and disturbances from revellers to Paceville and young tourists housed here. "Swieqi is affected primarily by Paceville – meaning that distur- bances occur throughout the year and mainly due to our proximity to Malta's main entertainment hub," Fenech explains, who says unruly behaviour is not limited to a partic- ular time or group of people. "The influx of foreign students during the summer is the proverbial cherry on the cake – our population increases dramatically and therefore disturbances become more common and more acute." Fenech says Sw- ieqi has been af- fected this summer just like every other summer before, al- though there have been summers that were worse. "Disturbances range from shouting and singing in the streets to more obscene actions. residents are be- ing affected week-in week-out, and the effects are also psychological… Imagine not being able to relax in your 'home sweet home'," he says, stressing on the exasperation many residents feel. In the past cars have been vandal- ised, with altercations being report- ed at various times of the night. But residents have not been idle in the face of the belligerent behaviour on their streets. "They have installed CCTV cameras around the location, something the local council is of- ficially working on," Fenech says. "Unfortunately there have been a number of calls for vigilantism and also a number of xenophobic and racist comments. These attitudes do not help in any way," he says, adding that the issue should be dealt with jointly, as a united locality. Fenech recalls that a number of disgruntled residents sent letters to the authorities, including the Prime Minister himself, even staging a peaceful protest to show their unity against this issue of concern. "I believe the government and the authorities have completely ignored the protest march held by residents, as well as the letters," he says. "Unfortunately it is difficult for cer- tain politicians to fathom the stress that some residents pass through on a daily basis because they lack the personal experience." But the council has been 'reinvig- orated' on the matter, Fenech says, saying that security and public or- der remains its number one prior- ity. "Seeing residents stand up to be counted on the matter gives the council the cutting edge to push for reforms and initiatives needed to solve this problem in the short to medium term." Swieqi's council now plans a work- ing group for residents, to shape the council's strategy on security and public order. In the offing is more CCTV, a neighbourhood watch sys- tem, and demands for more police officers on the beat, Swieqi actually got a 24-hour serv- ice police station in April 2014 in response to the high levels of nui- sance and yobbish behaviour, but the constant complaints lodged by residents have rendered effective- ness somewhat questionable. Statis- tics forwarded to MaltaToday by the police show that incidents of report- ed crime in the Swieqi area in 2014 stood at 269, including 104 reported theft cases and 94 reported cases of damage to others or their property. Fenech says the police station has made the locality safer, but that a number of improvements are need- ed. "More police patrols are needed since police presence needs to be felt in order to discourage bad behav- iour." But he does note an improvement in the situation, despite the increase in student influx. "of course this is not good enough and further work remains to be done to decrease the level of disturbances, criminality and havoc." REGISTER ONLINE & GET DIRECT DAILY DEALS INTO YOUR INBOX! THE ABOVE DEALS CAN BE PURCHASED ONLINE AT www.dealsmalta.com.mt GET 50% OFF! 3 Course A La Carte Dinner €21.95 (Worth: €43.90) GET 50% OFF! 3 Course A La Carte Lunch or Dinner €22.50 (Worth: €45.00)