Swieqi council demands more police security after 27 cars are vandalised

Vandals struck in Swieqi over three days between 29-31 March, with some 27 cars having had their mirrors smashed, the town's local council said today.

The council has called on the government and the police to safeguard the community's property from what it described as a "constant lack of public order and security".

The council said that on 29 March, over 20 cars were sprayed with a black line from one side to the other and on the 31 March 7 cars had their mirrors smashed, all in Triq is-Swieqi, Triq il-Molletta and Triq l-Ilma, roads which are all in close vicinity of Paceville.

The council, which took office on 1 April, has set up a public order and security working group to bring residents in direct contact with representatives of the police.

"Unfortunately, to date, the issues raised in this group have not been dealt with and residents have been victims of acts of vandalism and disturbance on a weekly basis. During the summer the amount of incidents increases, especially due to the amount of foreign students that frequent the area. The general response from the police has been that the St Julian's Police Station is understaffed and so it has not been possible to reach the expectations of the council," the council said.

The council also lobbied heavily for Swieqi, which includes the Ibrag and Madliena villages, to have its own police station.

"It was a positive sign that before the last general election, all three political parties were in favour of such an initiative and even the police expressed approval. The council believes that this electoral promise should be implemented as soon as possible and that in the meantime the locality should be properly patrolled by the police," the council said.

"Since the council has no power to enforce the law we therefore request that the relevant authorities give their assistance in order that Swieqi and its residents may be properly safeguarded."