During the past few months (or perhaps years), Gozo has seen a kind of frenzy on security officers mushrooming here and there. Anywhere you look, you see security officers being employed. And, judging by their uniforms, they all seem to be subcontracted.
You see them at the Gozo ferries, at the Gozo Ċittadella. There were times when we had them at Dwejra. We even had security officers directing car queues at the swabbing centre.
The real question, however, remains: is Gozo any safer?
The issue of safety and security, or law and order, in Gozo often surfaces after unfortunate incidents like the recent fatal one in Marsalforn. But the importance of safety and security in Gozo does not fluctuate. The actual lack of security in Gozo is something serious, alarming and constantly dangerous, irrespective of how much or how little we speak about it.
I had the opportunity to explain that the lack of security in Gozo is not because of public officials who shun their duties but, rather, due to the misallocation of human and financial resources by the authorities responsible for the sector. I could observe this from my meetings with several people and hear more about it as I speak with the public. On the one hand, we see quite a positive image of community policing. They are doing a fine job coming closer to the community, making themselves seen and approachable. That way, a community knows its police officer by name.
However, try asking for a police presence at an event, for example. The drought in police human resources in Gozo can be felt by so many. Whenever you need the police for an event the response has become pathetically automatic: “We do not have any more police officers.”
We have been having mass events in which you cannot spot any police officers. And with the festa season on our doorstep, one still has to see how things will unfold. Gozo’s population is set to more than double with the advent of the summer season while a police presence remains a scarce commodity.
And if one gets tempted to think that this is an exaggeration of the situation, I invite anyone to pay a visit to Xlendi or Marsalforn and ask residents or restaurant owners who have to deal with rowdy or drunk people themselves because they cannot find a police officer when they need one.
Lack of security in Gozo also stems from the fact that Gozo’s population has changed but the authorities have been late to react and adapt. Xlendi and Marsalforn have gone through multicultural changes. And while the whole of Maltese history is testament to the scale of how rich and beautiful multiculturalism can be, these communities on the margins of our indigenous population tend to strike a different undertone.
Xlendi and Marsalforn have gone through multicultural changes- Alex Borg
In the social field, Marsalforn has already been singled out as an area that requires direct action. And, so, I commend the work being undertaken on the ground by a team of social workers whom I also had the opportunity to meet. Yes, action was taken, personnel was deployed and, now, we await to see some tangible results.
But what about security? Action is barely being taken. Personnel cannot be found and no one can expect any result other than a general sense of lethargic helplessness. Again, ask the community of residents and restaurant owners.
Taking Marsalforn as an example, I was told by residents that, although unfortunate incidents in the area that made it to the press amounted to two, these recur almost on a daily basis.
How can one expect a lone police officer or two to stop scuffles or fights that involve half a dozen people or more and protect the neighbours at the same time?
Mġarr harbour too has evolved into a mini-Paceville, marked by a sharp increase in catering establishments that double as entertainment venues. But it did not take long for anyone to realise that a lack of police presence allows so many other things to mushroom apart from the good-intentioned young folk wanting to enjoy themselves in an orderly and law-abiding manner.
Having a police presence everywhere comes at a cost but so does a police absence. Perhaps at an even greater cost.
The same thing is happening in Comino where there are no policemen between 8.30pm and 9am. Deckchairs aside, news of some form of rules and regulations for campers have been welcomed by all those who have the environment at heart. But who is going to surveil the area and the campers to enforce these rules if there is no change in the police presence there?
Our role as politicians is not merely to echo citizens’ concerns but to offer them solutions. Therefore, rather than harking on the issue of lack of safety and security, it is my duty to appeal for the deployment of more human resources and improved work practices.
If human resources can’t be found, then one needs to investigate in a serious manner the source of the problem; whether we are having a brain drain from the police force or why is it that a career in policing might not be attractive any longer.
If no one is going to address these matters, we are failing our communities. We would be failing our people, who, as a bare minimum, expect to walk and dwell safely in their neighbourhoods.
Alex Borg is PN spokesperson for Gozo.