Americans warned about Paceville’s racist bouncers in travel safety report

The United States travel report for Malta has warned prospective tourists that the Maltese are very politically active but allays fears by referring to the peaceful nature of anti-government protests.

In its annual travel report, the US Department of State’s Overseas Security Advisory Committee welcomed progress on LGBTI+ rights but warns on the risk of racially-motivated crime in Paceville and the growth of cyber-criminals attracted to Malta’s “sophisticated” financial sector.

Anti-government protests are described as “almost always peaceful” to prospective visitors from the United States, who are advised to exercise “sound judgment when in the vicinity of protests”.

In the wake of last year’s anti-government protests amidst the meltdown of the Muscat administration, the crime and safety report by OSAC describes the Maltese people as “very active politically”, noting that they “frequently gather to voice dissatisfaction with government policies.”

Although these demonstrations are “almost always peaceful”, travellers are advised to maintain “situational awareness” and exercise sound judgement when in the vicinity of protest activity.

The report also notes sizeable increases in sexual crimes (+21%) as well as retail shoplifting (+26%) and thefts at hotels and restaurants (+26%).

The report associates Malta’s entertainment mecca Paceville with “excessive alcohol consumption” and “heavy-handed tactics of nightclub bouncers that can lead to violence, including some that appears to be racially motivated”.

It also warns visitors that “criminals have drugged travellers at bars, and robbed and assaulted them”.

The report recommends Malta as a safe place for LGBTI+ visitors. “Malta has undergone a rapid evolution of its LGBTI+ laws, to the point that the country regularly ranks as providing the most progressive LGBTI+ rights in Europe”.

While credit is given to the Labour government for leading the changes, “much of society has quickly adopted the same progressive attitude, breaking from a long history of social conservatism”.

Malta is also praised for extending its hate crime laws to offer protection on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity. While noting that Malta does not break out statistics covering hate crime offenses, “there is no evidence to suggest that Malta performs negatively in this regard”.

The greatest threat faced by travellers is related to non-violent and non-confrontational street crime, ranging from scams to petty theft. “Theft of cell phones, computers, portable electronics, money, and jewellery is common. Most street criminals do not carry weapons, and are not prone to gratuitous violence.”

Computer-related crime is described as an area of concern for the Maltese, “as cyber crimes have risen significantly from a decade ago”. This is partly attributed “to the sophisticated nature of Mal- ta’s IT and financial services sectors, where continued growth is expected”. The report specifically refers to a “malware incident” which took Bank of Valletta offline for 24 hours after hackers stole €13 million in February 2019.