Parents are taking a risk when they allow their children to go to Paceville, the mayor of St Julian’s has warned.

Gentleman’s clubs are “where the trouble starts”, says St Julian’s mayor Guido Dalli. Photo: Chris Sant Fournier

Malta’s entertainment mecca is just not a safe place, Guido Dalli told The Sunday Times of Malta in an interview following the murder of entertainment mogul Hugo Chetcuti outside one of his Paceville establishments two weeks ago.

Mr Dalli conceded that the presence of police in Paceville did make a difference. But, he added, a lot more could be achieved if the patrols were beefed up with officers who have been given specialised training in the type of situations that crop up in a place such as Paceville. 

People still lived in six of the neighbourhood’s streets, he said, adding, however, that residents were being driven out. And while there were many restaurants in Paceville that attracted families, there were several gentlemen’s clubs too, “and that is where the trouble starts”.

“To answer your questions, no, it’s not a safe place. Parents are continuously taking risks when they allow their children to go to Paceville. Some of the streets in Paceville are safe, but others attract a different crowd – and it’s better to stay away from them,” he said.

Some of the streets in Paceville are safe but others attract a different crowd – and it’s better to stay away from them

The mayor complained that Paceville did not have a police sub-station. “At the moment, if the police arrest someone and a police car is not available, the police must walk down with a handcuffed person to the police station [in St Julian’s] about 500 metres away.

“Paceville needs its own station. With more police in Paceville, it could be a safer place.”

Perhaps more than numbers, however, Paceville needed specially-trained police officers.

Mr Dalli said the local council had recently extended the bye-law prohibiting alcohol consumption in the streets. The law now covers all St Julian’s streets, including those in Paceville, and not a limited number.

Establishments selling alcohol must also provide containers made of a material other than glass if the beverage is to be consumed in a public area. Anyone in breach of these provisions is liable to a fine of €65.

Asked about alcohol consumption by teenagers, especially with the summer months attracting thousands of students to the island to study English, Mr Dalli said the majority of bars did not serve them alcohol but agreed more enforcement was required.

He said more enforcement was also needed to ensure that bar and nightclub owners lowered the volume of their music at specified times.

Mr Chetcuti passed away six days after he was stabbed twice in the stomach. A Serb national stands accused of his murder.

Last March, following the death of a 24-year-old man in Paceville in mysterious circumstances, the Opposition lamented a “collapse” of law and order there.

Nationalist MP Beppe Fenech Adami complained that as a parent who went to pick up his children in Paceville, he could see roads blocked when they should not be, tables blocking pavements, youths who were drunk and children allowed in places of entertainment where they were supposed to be banned.   

However, statistics show the crime rate in Paceville is down, from over 3,000 cases in 2012 to about 1,800 last year. Weekend police presence has been extended to weekdays, with recent government figures saying there are 20 officers on patrol during the week and 30 on Fridays and Saturdays.

Two special Intervention Units are also based there on weekends, according to information given in Parliament last March.