A teenager suffered a fractured leg after he was violently assaulted by a group of adolescents in Valletta last January.

The prime minister was among many who expressed their disgust, saying he did not deem it safe allowing his daughter to walk alone in the capital.

Insisting that every citizen must be responsible for maintaining public order and that parents had a responsibility to raise their children as peaceful citizens, he called for more police presence in Valletta.

Comments on social media made it abundantly clear that incident was by no means an isolated case of teenage misbehaviour.

Valletta councillor Mark Spiteri Lucas had told Times of Malta reports of teenage gangs harassing residents were not uncommon. In his view, the necessary resources had to be allocated to the police as, otherwise, “we’re just waiting for a tragedy to occur”.

It seems the situation has deteriorated with businesses in the capital having to engage security staff to maintain some order and protect themselves and customers.

Video recordings depicting teens beating each other in Valletta have recently been shared on social media. In one of them, a girl is seen being kicked and punched by other girls and another showed a gang of boys fighting, with screams heard in the background.

Judging by reports made by Valletta businesses, the problem of sizeable groups of teenagers causing trouble is growing. Some of these incidents are taking place right by City Gate, the heart of the capital.

Left unchecked, these unruly young people risk dismantling the hard work put in over the years by so many to revitalise Valletta – without going into the merits as to whether we have now gone to the other extreme.

Furthermore, the fact that the perpetrators can act with practical impunity raises the issue of ineffective law enforcement and what lies behind it.

Visible regular police patrols will, no doubt, serve as a deterrent. A study commissioned by the police force and conducted by the National Statistics Office had found that eight out of every 10 respondents felt officers should be out on patrol rather than located in a police station. Six out of 10 said they did not see policemen on the streets often enough.

As incidents like the ones in Valletta surface, such ‘fear’ among society is likely to increase. The real cause remains unclear.

Reacting to last January’s assault, the prime minister said the police had been given all the resources they asked for. The Valletta councillor’s comments appear to contradict that.

Speaking about crime figures earlier this year, Police Commissioner Angelo Gafà said that cases of bodily harm in Valletta had dropped by a fifth when compared to 2011.

This is positive, but the cases appearing on social media, and, which, admittedly, may not all have been reported to the police, are disconcerting.

A robust action plan must be drawn up urgently. The Valletta local council, home affairs ministry and the police must work together to get to the root of the problem, agree on the necessary allocation of resources, and ensure people feel safe in their locality. The same should be done in other towns and villages which have also witnessed the emergence of gangs.

Unruly gangs cannot simply be dismissed as an inconvenience expected from the younger generation, especially when they are now turning violent.