The Swieqi police station, which is supposedly open round the clock, has been closed at night on several occasions during the past few weeks, concerned residents have told The Malta Independent.

Pictures sent to this newspaper clearly show the police station with its main door closed and the blue lamp switched off. A resident told this paper that whenever the station was closed a sign saying that the officers were on patrol and would return soon was hung on the door. However the station remained closed and no officers are to be seen on such occasions. This happened on several consecutive nights during the past month or so.

“The station used to be fully manned when it was opened a year and a half ago but its resources seem to have been drained over time,” the resident said. 

The same person, who lives in the vicinity of the station, said there were also times when the station was empty but the interior lights were left on. “I don’t know if this is just a case of carelessness or if the lights are left on to give the impression that someone was inside. If the latter is the case then this is very misleading.”

The resident said there were also days when the station was closed during morning hours. On 5 September a foreign man was caught red handed trying to burgle a house. His photographs were circulated on the social media. The lesser known story, the resident said, was that when locals went to the police station – a couple of blocks away – to report the attempted burglary they found the door closed. This was around 8am.

The Swieqi police station, it seems, has been plagued by a number of other problems. “Since only two officers are being stationed there and officers patrol in pairs they have to close the station every time they go out.”

It is understood that when the station was opened the normal duty shift consisted of three officers but the number has since gone down to two and, in some cases zero.

Swieqi police don’t have a squad car

Another resident said the only police car that had been assigned to the Swieqi station has been reassigned elsewhere, meaning that the police officers would have to walk to a trouble spot. The trouble is that Swieqi is not exactly a small locality and the police station is also responsible for areas such as Ibrag and Madliena.

While officers in Swieqi could call for back-up from the St Julian’s police station it is understood that the latter is also seriously undermanned.

The opening of the Swieqi police station in April 2014 was very much hyped up. Then Home Affairs Minister Manuel Mallia said the locality’s crime rate was double the national average. “We have listened to the people’s concerns and we have acted swittly to open a police station which is fully equipped,” Dr Mallia had said, adding that the police presence would be strengthened by the deployment of officers on foot patrol in Swieqi and St Julian’s.

In reply to a parliamentary question by PN MP Marthese Portelli earlier this month, Home Affairs Minister Carmelo Abela said he was informed that the station is open and manned 24 hours a day. The officers, he said, were stationed there to control the illegalities mentioned by the MP, including vandalism, thefts ad bad parking.

Minister ‘informed’ that station is open 24/7

When asked for a reaction yesterday, Home Affairs Minister Carmelo Abela said the information he had from the police was that the Swieqi station was “manned and open 24/7.” He said the station might be closed at times when the officers on duty had to go on foot patrol.

Asked if he felt there was a need for additional officers and resources to be allocated to the locality, Mr Abela said while additional resources were always needed this was also a question of whether the existing resources were being used wisely. The ministry, he said, was taking such questions into consideration in drafting the strategy for the police force.

Asked about the fact that the Swieqi police station has ended up without a single squad car, Mr Abela was he could not confirm such information. The minister suggested that we should address that particular question to the police.

We did in fact ask the police about the police car and the station being closed at times, but these questions, sent on Friday, remained unanswered by the time of going to print.