Every summer it happens. Residents of St Julian’s and Swieqi are subjected to behaviour that results in their cars being damaged, their properties being violated and defaced, sleep patterns are shot to hell, people are assaulted and sworn at and much, much more.

It happens throughout the summer, but August is usually the pinnacle as language students and tourists come for a holiday and end up, at some point or another, on a night out in Paceville.

Paceville itself looks absolutely awful. It is shabby and seems like one permanent construction site. Cranes dot the skyline, ever way one turns their eyes, they are visible. The roads are in a poor state due to the constant pounding they take and pavements are literally crumbling away and falling to bits. It is a challenge for the able bodied, but those with disabilities and older people might find it next to impossible.

The road up to Swieqi is used as a public latrine, and the odd doorstep here and there is covered in vomit early on Sunday mornings. With the scorching sun and the searing heat, it does not make a pretty sight and the smell is abominable.

Residents in these localities deserve better. Things have improved since the police station opened in Swieqi, but people underestimate the sheer volume of people that use the locality to get back to their accommodation after a night out. A couple of police officers will act as a deterrent, but they are still hopelessly outnumbered by the number of people who line and walk the streets.

Paceville itself, as we have said, is in dire need of a proper overhaul. Granted, the whole area is hosed down and cleaned every morning. But the area does need standards. Encroachment permits seem to be flouted at every corner as more and more tables and chairs are put out on the streets. Bouncers and club managers seem to lord it over the streets. It literally has become a jungle. Drink is taken out onto the streets. Sometimes in bottles and sometimes in glasses. Convenience stores sell alcohol after hours with impunity, there are no checks whatsoever.

People seem to be looking younger and younger these days, but it also seems that a lot of minors are also gaining entry to nightclubs and can be seen gorging on alcohol, particularly at shops on the way into the nightlife ‘Mecca’. Clubs, bars and shops are also open way after closing hours and it seems like there are several that organise after hours “lock-in” parties. The number of people doing the walk of shame early in the morning as people emerge to buy their milk and newspapers are also proof of this.

But what is particularly worrying is the sheer amount of alcohol that people seem to be consuming while in Paceville. It is also abundantly clear that narcotics also come into the mix, as shown by routine seizures by the police on the weekends. But those cases are probably just the tip of the iceberg. Paceville has never been the prettiest or most orderly place in Malta, but it really has hit the bottom now. Something needs to be done to raise the standards in the area and enforcement of existing legislation would do lot to help matters.