Pembroke mayor calls for more police presence in locality

The mayor of Pembroke, Dean Hili, has called for more police presence in his locality.

Hili said that while the fact that Pembroke was rather secluded and cut-off from other villages – and these characteristics were cherished by the large majority of its residents – it could also bring with it undesired consequences.

Hili explained that the relative vicinity of Pembroke to Paceville, as well as the fact that the village was home to many host families who cater for foreign students who come to Malta to learn English, leads to certain cases of abuse. This, in turn, has raised security concerns among several residents.

“Pembroke does not overly suffer from cases of theft or crimes of a similar nature,” Hili told MaltaToday. “Vandalism, however, is a big problem over here, with many of these caused by students returning home after a night out at the night clubs.”

It is not only the foreign students who cause havoc, though, as the mayor points out. “We have had cases of drug abuse with many used syringes now serving as a health hazard for children,” he said, adding that he was particularly irked by the fact that young couples benefitted from Pembroke’s ‘out of the way’ nature to have sex in their vehicles.

Hili lamented the fact that Pembroke did not have its own police station – with the St Julian's station called upon in case of assistance – but did not necessarily believe the locality required one.

“It must be said that these are isolated cases but the fact is that we could certainly do with better police presence in Pembroke,” he said. “Many times, these petty crimes are allowed to be carried out because the St Julians station is drowning in work-load and cannot cope with its locality, as well as ours.”

The Minister for Home Affairs, Manuel Mallia, will be visiting the Pembroke local council tomorrow with these issues expected to be brought up by the council representatives.