Paceville – does it deserve to be Malta’s entertainment zone?

Comparing Paceville to entertainment centres throughout Europe and the rest of the world, the St Julian’s zone seems to fall short in a number of areas. This half a square mile is frequented by thousands of people every day, who seek entertainment from the shops, restaurants, bars and nightclubs conglomerated in the area.

A young man was attacked by six thugs in Paceville last week for helping a student retrieve a stolen handbag. Though the perpetrators were punished in the court of law, this prompted the young man’s father, Dr Anthony Farrugia, to set up a pressure group aimed at avoiding violent incidents in Paceville and the surrounding areas.

Dr Farrugia insists that this is no longer a personal crusade.

“My son’s incident was a minor one where both he and his girlfriend escaped with minor injuries. However this is not an isolated incident. As a lawyer I have defended cases, which involved people being slashed in the face with glass bottles.

“Any such incident scars a person for life – physically and metaphorically – and what we need to be aiming for is to avoid these incidents altogether, not simply to intervene after they have happened.

“When incidents like these happen in other localities – if someone throws a punch in Valletta or steals a handbag in Sliema – they make headlines, whereas in Paceville they happen on a daily basis. Why is this lawnessness allowed to go on unchecked?”

On the night of the incident, Dr Farrugia’s 22-year-old son came into contact with a student who seemed very upset. When he asked him what was wrong, it turned out that his bag had been stolen with everything he had with him in Malta – mobile phone, money, credit cards, passport etc. The thugs responsible for the crime were just standing around a few metres down the road, not even attempting to flee from the scene of the crime as they were sure they wouldn’t get caught. 

Violence in Paceville is of major concern, however it is not the only trouble with the area. Residents frequently complain about noise pollution, damage to their property through vandalism and youngsters relieving themselves on their property.

Dr Farrugia’s pressure group are calling for better services available to youths frequenting Paceville. The area lacks public conveniences with only one facility, which is ill-attended. Though bars provide facilities for their patrons, party-goers who have spent the large part of the night drinking and milling around in the streets will relieve themselves wherever they happen to be when nature calls, as there is nowhere else go once they have left the bar. 

First aid facilities are also lacking. It is not only people getting into fights who require these services but accidents also occur, especially when trying to navigate the uneven surfaces on stiletto heels after a few drinks. Over-consumption of alcohol and dehydration also call for first aid services which are unavailable in Paceville. 

The solutions

Dr Farrugia’s pressure group is calling for action to be taken to clean up Paceville’s act. Active monitoring of Paceville and the surrounding areas will act as a deterrent to vandals and allow for effective monitoring using few resources.

“Two police officers can monitor a large number of areas on CCTV while a mobile squad patrols the area. In the event of an incident the mobile squad can be directed to the area at a moment’s notice.

“Though the police have to work within their own limitations it is unacceptable that Malta’s entertainment area is left to its own devices. The police need to show an imposing physical presence without being over-bearing. It has to be a welcome peace-keeping presence.

Though there is currently some police presence in the area, they concentrate mostly on keeping the volume down and catching people smoking in clubs.

“They need to be trained to be able to impart authority and instruction rather than simply arresting any person who steps out of line. We need a benevolent police force that protects people’s interests rather than imposing on them.”

There are provisions in the law in the industry of sports which prohibits troublemakers from attending sporting events once they have broken the law. Dr Farrugia is proposing that similar provisions be made for the entertainment industry.

“Troublemakers should be made to follow a curfew if they get into trouble. Taking away their source of enjoyment would make them think twice before starting up any trouble and would act as a much more effective deterrent than a simple rap across the knuckles.”

Providing clean sanitary services will keep youngsters from relieving themselves on other people’s property. While permanent facilities are being built, Dr Farrugia’s pressure group are proposing temporary mobile toilets to be installed, though these have to be well attended to ensure people use them.