Fr Hilary makes case for stronger police presence in Paceville

Police presence in Paceville would have to be beefed up if the present level of violence was to be curtailed, Fr Hilary Tagliaferro, founder of the Millennium Chapel, said.

"It is very worrying to see this kind of violence escalating - police presence has to be improved because seeing police in uniform will serve as a deterrent," he said.

However, Police Commissioner John Rizzo does not feel that violence is increasing at an alarming rate and that incidents, in an area where there was such a high concentration of entertainment establishments, were to be expected.

Fr Hilary and Mr Rizzo were contacted after two men, a French sailor and a 28-year-old from Qormi, were taken to hospital suffering from serious injuries in two separate incidents in Paceville at the weekend.

The sailor was hospitalised on Saturday after being evicted from Footloose Bar by bouncers while the Maltese man was admitted after he was stabbed three times with a pointed instrument on Sunday night, the police said.

The police said a 26-year-old man from Zurrieq was helping them with investigations into Sunday`s argument, believed to have been over a relationship with a young woman.

Four men have been arraigned in connection with the other incident.

The issue of security in Paceville is constantly being raised and many argue that while police officers should be present, Paceville should not be transformed into a police state.

Just last month, Police Commissioner John Rizzo said that police presence had been stepped up after the murder of Brian Tabone, 23, who was stabbed in Dragonara Road in front of Bamboo Bar.

Mr Rizzo had also stressed that the police were on high alert, on the lookout for anyone in possession of weapons such as knives and pen-knives.

Mr Tabone`s murder was the second in six months to take place in Paceville, after a Gozitan man died last October when he was stabbed in the neck. Fights in the area have also become common.

Five security cameras, linked to the police headquarters and monitored 24 hours, were set up in Paceville last month to strengthen security in the locality.

However, Fr Hilary still feels the police should physically patrol the area on foot, with special attention to bars or nightclubs that were frequently in the headlines because of fighting.

It seemed there were some people who went to Paceville to vent their frustrations and were dying to pick a fight over nothing.

"These are the people who are giving Paceville a bad name because, on the whole, young people come here to have good, clean fun," he said.

"While I see police pass by in their car, I very rarely see police patrolling Paceville on foot. We need their physical presence, especially in high-risk areas," Fr Hilary argued.

However, Mr Rizzo said that at weekends there were always 10 policemen patrolling Paceville on foot, including one official supervisor.

"Even if I had 50 policemen stationed in the area, it would still be impossible to anticipate where the fights are going to break out.

"I do not think that incidents in Paceville are increasing in any particular way. It is more the anti-social behaviour of some people who frequent this place that worries us," he said.

Fr Hilary also stressed the need for the bouncers of establishments to be properly and professionally educated on how to handle people, especially those who had a bit too much to drink.

Apart from this weekend`s incident involving the French sailor, four young foreign students last December had reported to the police they had been beaten up by bouncers at a Paceville nightclub for no apparent reason.

Philip Fenech, president of the hospitality and leisure section of the GRTU, Association of General Retailers and Traders, also expressed concern over the number of fights which also involved stabbing in Paceville.

"We are hearing all too often that people are going out for a drink carrying a pointed instrument. It is no consolation, but this kind of violence is also being experienced on the British entertainment scene," he said when contacted.

"Nightlife is a barometer of what is happening in society. However, we do not want to give the impression it is getting out of hand and that everyone in Paceville is wielding a knife because this is not the case," he said.

Mr Fenech pointed out that the Millennium Chapel was serving as a way for young people to channel their tension into positive energy and control their anger.

"We will continue to build a good rapport between establishment owners and the police so that these incidents are controlled before they escalate beyond control," Mr Fenech said.