What worries me most about the problems that residents in Swieqi and Paceville have had to endure over the years is that notwithstanding the fact that most of these issues have grown to be endemic by now, no serious attempt was ever made to devise a clear-cut strategy to address the core problems

We have only had knee-jerk reactions the moment certain issues turned out to be far from sustainable, while any preventive action has always been conspicuous by its own absence.

Way back in 1989, a Nationalist administration had devised a Master Plan for Tourism – the Howarth & Howarth Report – that had contained a landmark zoning plan for the Greater St Julian’s area.

If you had to ask me what has been done with this report since then, the answer is simple – nothing. Like most other reports, it has been allowed to gather dust.

I am saying so not to denigrate the report, although there were certain flaws in some areas of it, but rather to show the immobility and passivity of an administration that has been at the helm virtually since 1987.

While Paceville residents have been made to suffer increasingly over the years, the leisure side of the business has grown, albeit in a somewhat unregulated manner.

On the plus side, the locality has the huge advantage of confining most of the over-exuberant younger locals and visitors into one relatively restricted area.

Spread out over other areas, controlling and policing might be even harder to do.

That Paceville is a tourist attraction is a given. If it gives us a good name or not remains a debatable subject. But from a business point of view it has fuelled the demand for youth tourism and while we are nowhere near Ibiza in numbers, some foreign visitors love it. The reputation of Paceville has even created an insatiable demand among foreigners who want to experience it.

If this happens to be the kind of tourism we need that is another matter altogether.

What is undisputed is the fact that it has become a major attraction for English Language students.

While this represents the lower market end of tourism, it still leaves a contribution, particularly when margins are down in spite of increased arrival figures.

Clearly, those operators who go for this sector are not able to go for higher spending sectors probably because they lack the capacity to make the necessary investment and therefore the return on capital invested is acceptable.

That such areas thrive on a certain degree of exploitation is another undisputed fact. It happens anywhere else and we Maltese cannot expect to come across as virgins in the economic operating side.

More police patrols can curtail such exploitation so long as all the police members involved rise to the occasion and perform their duties with integrity and in a fair manner.

While I do not believe in over the top policing, on the other hand I believe that a police car on the corner with blue flashing lights can have a strong deterrent effect.

The police can also play an important role in intervening when brawls occur.

I will not go into the extent of policing, but in my humble opinion a more evident police presence would be useful.

One new point that is likely to emerge is whether the profit-makers should pay for this additional service cost or else whether it should be carried by the taxpayer himself.

More police presence should and or could help deter drug abuse, street violence and even racist abuse.

While I do not intend to rubbish all bouncers as thugs, effective regulation of bouncers remains conspicuous by its own absence.

Some contend that an excessive police presence could reduce Paceville’s allure. So long as we manage to create and foster a culture that the police are there to protect this should not create any problems.

Many countries have instituted the Tourist Police branch simply to resolve this issue.

The problem with Malta is that we do not have many rules and the few rules and regulations that we have are best considered a recommendation to put it mildly… and politely.

People should not be penalised for being mere 18-year-olds. If people break the law the police should come down hard on them but on the other hand a degree of flexibility should be resorted to when manageable situations arise.

It would be a mistake to think of Paceville merely as a tourist attraction. Although I know of many young people who cannot stand the mere sight and mention of the word ‘Paceville’, it is common knowledge that the area is frequented by many Maltese youngsters.

Parents of younger children have the right to feel that their children are reasonably safe and protected even when having fun.

The message conveyed not only by parents but also by the law makers and the law regulators is: ‘Have fun but do not go beyond the limits’.

The people who run the Paceville establishments definitely have their own ideas. Understandably they might tend to be one-sided but it would be a mistake not to ensure that they are heard.

I know that people like Fr Hilary Tagliaferro have already done much to turn Paceville into an Oasis of Peace without killing the whole Paceville concept. I think that a seasoned and practical person like Fr Tagliaferro who has done so much good to the community at large in the past should be invited by the authorities to have his say.

That a new pressure group has emerged acting for a ‘Safe Paceville’ is a positive idea since it goes to prove that civil society is not just there to moan and groan but also to contribute positive ideas and suggestions.

One needs to strike a balance between having Paceville and the surrounding areas continue to look like a lawless jungle while avoiding it from turning into a police state.

It is pointless calling for additional legislation, when as in the case of the environmental sector, law enforcement has been almost totally lacking so far.

Being a Shadow Minister for the Environment, I think that the citizens and residents in the area should not only feel better protected and much safer but they should also be protected from another hindrance – noise pollution.

As for gentlemen’s clubs, I think that trying to write them off the map makes as much little sense as it does in encouraging them to grow and turn the whole area into a red light district. What worries me most is that until a number of Romanian pole dancers were taken to court, our Commissioner of Police had gone on record stating that he was not even aware of such ‘activity’ since he happened to be a family man.

Once the tourism season ends, all stakeholders should without any undue delay put their thinking hats on and try to match proper zone management policies in a manner that does both government and the private sector proud for any investment made in the area over the years.

A government agency on its own as suggested will not do the trick. All stakeholders must be involved including the praiseworthy pressure group and well-meaning and respected people like Fr Tagliaferro.

I know that local elections are fast approaching in the predominantly PN-oriented Swieqi locality but I feel that the residents in the area deserve better regardless of their political views. If the police had promised the local council to step up crime patrols and some councillors have been claiming publicly that the necessary measures were not taken as promised – the police must own up and come clean on the issue.

Living as I do close to the St Julian’s police station I am fully aware that their resources – particularly human resources – are overstretched. Which begs the question: What alternative strategies does government itself have to make up for these limited resources?

In admitting that it does not have the resources to respond to Swieqi’s needs the police are merely admitting defeat.

I agree with whoever claimed that there has been too much talk and little action taken so far.

Only by having the authorities acting proactively can sanity be restored to the whole dismal and alarming situation.

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Leo Brincat is the Shadow Minister for the Environment, Sustainable Development & Climate Change