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Labour’s shadow minister for the interior has laid blame on the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting for the “epidemic of hold-ups” he said have followed due to the police force’s concentration on the CHOGM security set-up.
Gulia said criminals that operate in thefts and hold-ups are managing to exploit “the great distractions” that have occupied the police.
“It is obvious the country has been hit by an epidemic of thefts and hold-ups everyday and at every time of the day. It is not a coincidence that on the eve of the CHOGM, there has been a hefty increase of hold-ups, and this phenomenon of thefts and hold-ups might continue increasing if precautions are not taken when the conference reaches its peak.”
Gulia said there was “a need for a balance between the suitable protection for dignitaries that are going to be visiting Malta and keeping law and order in the streets at an acceptable and efficient level.” He appealed to the Commissioner of Police and the government to assure everyone that the various police divisions and the mobile police squad will be present and more visible in those localities and places that are vulnerable to this type of criminality.
Meanwhile Police Commissioner John Rizzo yesterday said that while it was true the police were fully committed to ensure security during CHOGM, they were also intensifying the fight against crime.
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