When there was a spate of vandalistic acts last year – with the Portes des Bombes in Floriana as the main target – there was an outcry in the media against the perpetrators.

Comments and letters were sent to newspapers, all urging the authorities to take drastic action against those caught damaging national monuments. There were also calls for the installation of cameras to act as a deterrent, a suggestion that was implemented. In fact, CCTV was later installed.

Under the watchful eye of the camera, Portes des Bombes has not been targeted by vandals. Hopefully, people will have the same respect for other monuments and sites of national importance and heritage.

However, acts of vandalism are not necessarily carried out on large monuments alone. Other places – sometimes less obviously – are also hit. A case in point is the destruction of toilets and wash-basins in public conveniences in Paceville last weekend.

There will not be an outcry in the media, similar to that when the Portes des Bombes was spray-painted, because it happened in a public convenience. That, however, does not mean that these acts should not be deplored.

After all, the public convenience in Paceville, as in other places, is there to be used by the public and a considerable sum of money was spent to install the facilities. The Resources and Infrastructure Ministry said that last weekend’s attack was the third since 1 May 2004. The ministry added that Lm800,000 had been spent to upgrade Paceville, which included the building of the public convenience there.

It is impossible to install cameras close to every building or monument, let alone public conveniences... and no one is suggesting it. While national monuments, and rightly so, are “protected” by cameras, nobody expects that every public area or public building should be covered by CCTV. Then, surely, there would be an outcry and protects.

We cannot expect the police, wardens or any other uniformed personnel to monitor each public building. The police and wardens already have enough on their plate and, in spite of their increased presence in many localities, it is impossible for them to be everywhere.

People take advantage of this, so much so that they dump carcasses in open areas – the dumping of a dead pig in the Qormi-Marsa watercourse some time before Christmas, for instance. We had another case of illegal dumping in the watercourse only this week.

While increases in fines for vandalistic acts and illegal dumping are welcome and the installation of cameras to protect national monuments is an excellent deterrent, we need to re-instill a sense of civic and national pride... and we are lacking in this area.

Education plays an important role. From an early age, children should be educated to keep their country clean and to be proud their heritage. A child who drops a tissue on the ground, and is not admonished by the parent, told to pick it up to dispose of it accordingly, might one day grow up and think nothing of throwing an unwanted sofa in the countryside.

It is also equally important that those caught committing vandalistic acts or disposing of unwanted waste illegally are punished. Increasing the fines for dumping and littering offences will hopefully help in this regard, and it is important that tough sentences are handed down to offenders and their punishment made public – that would help to prevent others from taking the risk.

The removal of illegally dumped waste and work to repair places that have been vandalised, cost money. This money, as the Resources and Infrastructure Ministry has reiterated, could be used for embellishment projects. It hurts civic-minded citizens to see their hard earned money and taxes being used to repair public monuments and buildings that have been voluntarily damaged by irresponsible individuals.