Spinola, St Julian’s Bay residents up in arms over lack of police patrols

Residents of one of St Julian’s oldest seaside streets are up in arms over the lack of community police presence in an area plagued by anti-social behaviour.

The locality of Spinola Bay, and other residents of St Julian’s near Balluta Bay, have appealed for more law and order in the vicinity of their residences due to wilful vandalism and disturbances from revellers.

“This situation is becoming impossible to live with. Signs in various languages requesting respect for residents would be greatly appreciated.”

The residents want regular police patrols at night so that anyone caught breaking the peace isbooked and not just requested to move on. “There are at least four, live, publicly accessible webcams that cover the area which can be utilised to survey Spinola Bay. Unless word gets round that this behaviour is unacceptable in Malta, we will continue to suffer the consequences.”

The residents said in a statement to the authorities that their streets were subject to foul smells in the morning from the mess left by passers-by and other revellers relieving themselves during the night.

“Nightly disturbances between midnight and 6am, with young people singing and shouting or playing amplified music at full volume; often cars park illegally on the slipway, open their car doors and play music at high volume while they relax in their cars. When residents repeatedly ask for respect, the answer is often, ‘Call the police, they won’t come!’” the residents said in their letter.

The residents complain that when police do turn up on occasion they only request the revellers to move on and not book them. “What normally happens is that once the police leave, these individuals return, often even noisier, because they now have an axe to grind.”

They also complained of regular looting from and vandalism of boats moored in Spinola Bay, as well as those on land.

They said the cars illegally parked by the St Julian’s Bay slipway and the road leading to the sea was impeding traffic. “Should an emergency arise in any residence reached through this road, no emergency vehicle could possibly get through.”