The mysterious circumstances surrounding the death of a young man in Paceville early on Sunday morning have fuelled the longstanding debate on security – or, rather, the lack of it – at the clubbing hotspot.

The immediate reaction to the 24-year-old’s death was one of anger – not only with the persistent lack of security in the area, but also because the alleged perpetrator is a foreigner.

But it seems that there is more than meets the eye in this particular case. The autopsy on the body of Zack Meli was inconclusive, and the Bulgarian teenager who had earlier been detained in connection with the case was released on police bail. There was also talk of the Maltese man having died as a result of natural causes.

Yet it seems that there was some form of altercation – even the police said on Sunday that the victim fell to the ground during an argument, while a relative of the man has alleged that he was surrounded and beaten. It is as of yet unknown whether those natural causes were brought on by something more sinister.

What is certain is that this was no isolated case. Violence in Paceville has become the norm.

From an area of entertainment, it has become an area for adult entertainment and drinking as well as mindless casual violence.

One could argue that the presence of police in the area does not seem to have made any difference but then probably the same police presence must have made some difference. The repeated episodes of mindless violence simply show that the police presence is not enough.

Of all the stakeholders in the area, the residents still living there are the ones who get noticed the least and who suffer the most from people urinating on their doorsteps and worse – much worse.

The owners of the outlets, facing huge problems of economic viability, do not need this kind of negative publicity which scares people away from the area. They must have invested huge sums in their outlets and cannot afford the area becoming a no-go area.

The forces of order have beefed up their presence but such incidents get maximum negative publicity and make people believe that the beefed-up police presence is simply not enough, especially when night turns to dawn, when people have had their fill of drink – and possibly other substances – and should be in their beds. This is, it seems, when the situation gets worse.

From what has been reported about this particular case, it seems that the altercation developed suddenly. The police cannot be everywhere, cannot foresee everything, cannot act immediately.

Other countries faced this kind of situation and have successfully brought down the level of illegality, crime and murders. We must learn from them and act together.

We cannot have stakeholders acting out on their own or at cross-purposes.