Swieqi resident contacts Prime Minister over security concerns

Swieqi residents have repeatedly expressed concern about the lack of security in their streets, and one disgruntled resident, JP Barthet, has sent a Facebook message to Prime Minister Joseph Muscat over the issue. 

In his letter, Barthet reminds Muscat that prior to the last general election, he had visited the locality with a rallying cry to address the security issues, which plague residents of the locality due to its close proximity to nightclub hub Paceville.

“Our roads, especially Triq is-Swieqi and Triq is-Sidra have become a playground for overly inebriated people always indulging themselves in vandalistic sports, using our cars, homes or shops for this totally unacceptable behaviour,” Barthet wrote in his letter, stressing that residents were “tired of the deaf ears” upon which their complaints continued to fall. 

Asked to further clarify, Barthet said that residents have to endure the shouting, singing and swearing of passers by on their way to and from Paceville every night. 

“For example just this weekend they have broken or rather, completely ripped off, the side mirror of my car for the fourth time in under a year,” Barthet said, adding that someone was mugged in the evening with a knife some weeks ago.

Contacted by MaltaToday, Swieqi mayor Noel Muscat said he was not surprised the long-standing issue had led to this development. 

“I cannot deny that things have changed slightly over time, with the introduction of a new police station in Swieqi, for instance, but progress has been slow and it isn’t enough,” Mayor Muscat said. 

He explained that the police station had given residents some peace of mind, so much so that people truly noticed the difference when it was closed, however, given that it was poorly manned, with only two or three officers present at times, it meant that the station was sometimes left unmanned when there was some sort of pressing emergency or when one of the officers was indisposed. He explained that one of the biggest problems for the station was the small number of recruits, and that this was an issue that could only be dealt with by the government.

“The main concern now is that the issue has spread. Whereas before it was somewhat confined to the Garden View area and Triq il-Keffa, it has now spread throughout the locality,” the mayor said, stressing that it was often not just young foreign students who were causing trouble.

“Indeed, we always have a meeting ahead of the beginning of the summer months when we know we will be getting an influx of many young foreign visitors, but the violent and raucous behaviour is in no way confined to them.”

Muscat added that the people were right to feel so frustrated as they had to live in constant tension and fear, but, he added, there was very little that local councils could do in this respect.

“Swieqi is one of the few localities in the country that doesn’t enjoy any social services like public housing and schooling, and nor are we asking for them,” Muscat clarified. “But given that the locality makes a significant contribution to the country’s economy, we expect some attention and funds to be filtered to our issues.”

The mayor pointed out that many residents lodged complaints and contacted him personally through social media and that the local council wanted to push for CCTV security cameras to be set up throughout the locality.

“Such security systems cost quite a bit of money as you can imagine,” he stressed. 

“Not only is the actual equipment rather costly, but the maintenance and upkeep also costs a fortune. Furthermore, you cannot forget that people would be needed to monitor the actual footage,” Muscat added.

Referring to the fact that Barthet’s letter referred to “talk of street protests and night vigils,” Muscat said that it wasn’t the first time that residents had felt the need to take security into their own hands. 

“One particular resident had even set up a camera to monitor her street, and she had actually caught quite a few people red-handed either breaking into cars or driving inappropriately,” Muscat said, adding that the footage was ultimately forwarded to the police, but that there were some reservations about the legality of such methods.

“The people are reacting to a promise that Joseph Muscat had made ahead of the general elections. They see how other frequently visited localities such as Mdina don’t have such an extensive problem given the constant surveillance,” he said, pointing out that the locality is in fact very large; ranging from Gharghur to Victoria Gardens, Regional Road and even High Ridge and encompassing some 10,000 residents, excluding tourists and long term foreign visitors. 

Muscat explained that one of the suggestions being currently mulled, besides CCTV, was a neighbourhood watch system.

“Although this system could be effective, as it essentially means people living in the area would co-ordinate with the police should anything amiss happen, it presents a number of issues,” Muscat said, explaining that it required residents themselves to volunteer, and that they were often afraid of possible retaliation.

“There isn’t much else local councils can do, but I sincerely hope that the residents’ needs and wishes will be met by those who can truly make a difference,” Mayor Muscat said.