When inaction is not an option

I put pen to paper in the early hours of a summer morning to recount an experience of this night. A son of mine accompanied by his girlfriend in St George’s Bay, Paceville, has tonight been set upon by a gang of six young men (foreign and Maltese) who did not take kindly to his intervening with them to return a bag they had just snatched from a young tourist. He was actually threatened with a glass and, after this was mercifully set aside, was beaten, his girlfriend also attacked, thrown to the floor and repeatedly kicked.

Some people called the police, others intervened feebly but damage was done, to the extent that my son felt threatened enough to call me and ask me to go to his aid, and quickly. Happily, apart from shock and some cuts and bruises, no great harm was done. The assailants had dispersed and vanished by the time I, and eventually the police, arrived.

Some observations are in order.

Paceville is a highly frequented, irresistible honeypot for our youth. It draws tourists and locals alike, the decent and law-abiding rubbing shoulders with the dregs of society.

Far too often, my children and their friends recount incidents where they suffer aggression at the hands of intoxicated or somehow other crazed thugs.

Injuries often occur, sometimes serious.

Clubs are for the greater part well organised with internal security arrangements that maintain order on the inside. The security personnel every night, in many establishments, eject clients who behave badly or pose a threat of some sort or other. The matter should not stop there. People deemed unfit to grace the clientele of an establishment should be reported to the police as posing a potential threat on the outside.

Clubs and other establishments where alcohol, and this to excess, is likely to be consumed should not make glass objects, such as glasses or bottles, available to customers.

An incident at a club I once owned for some years resulted in the immediate replacement of all glass items, including ashtrays in the smoking area. Plastic glasses, that are firm and need to be touched to realise the difference, are now freely available on the catering market. Most importantly, they cannot be used to inflict injury.

Bottled drinks need to be poured and the glass bottles retained in the dispensing bar. There is already a law that prohibits the carrying of bottles and glasses outdoors... All of this requires an effective enforcement machinery. There is urgent need for a highly visible and effective police presence in Paceville.

The police should be there primarily to prevent and not only to take reports of these types of incidents, after the fact, after injuries are caused, and the enjoyment of law-abiding people totally ruined. Investigations after the fact are time-consuming and poorly pursued of necessity.

This free-for-all environment also cultivates arrogance on the part of the wrongly inclined because they all know of the weaknesses in law enforcement and feel free to give vent to their warped sense of enjoyment on the desirable elements of our society.

The police need to be there to show one and all that there is no place for transgressors of the law in a place that exists for youthful entertainment. Otherwise, it would seem we are surrendering lawful territory to the unlawful elements that plague society. Even worse, the crass inability of the police to pre-empt undesirable incidents and the inability to effectively pursue and bring to justice any wrongdoers tend to nurture a vigilante attitude among the wronged.

CCTV footage such as there may exist is here only used to investigate. Rather, its purpose should be to actively monitor and intervene where a secure environment is seriously desired. We all know that the members of the police force are dedicated and undergo great sacrifice to carry out their duties. However, the force is seriously overstretched by way of personnel, tools and training and the responsibility therefore rests with the upper echelons to equip the police to actually “serve and protect”.

And, so, this morning I find myself thankful that my son is now safe at home and that it could have been worse. But I am not content because such is the consolation of the meek and complacent.

I am a parent, a father of four, and I am ashamed to have stayed silent for so long in spite of what I know threatens our youth, my children.

I will not wait to write and speak out loud and clear until the son or daughter of someone is seriously injured or worse because of the notorious ineptitude of policing in Malta’s main entertainment area. Nor should I wait until the son or daughter of some leading politician is a victim before something is done.

No one is immune and in-action is not an option.

Dr Farrugia is a lawyer