Sliema residents this evening vented their anger and frustration at the increasing level of theft from residences in their locality during a public consultation with the Home Affairs Minister.
They called for more foot patrols by the police to serve as a deterrent.
A number of people spoke of the trauma they or their relatives suffered after thieves broke into their houses to steal gold and money. They also hinted at a pattern that involved professional thieves who could break into houses that were also equipped with "super locks".
It did not appear, however, that the burglars used any special key, with residents reporting that the doors were actually forced open.
The thieves generally used a pair of socks from the same house to avoid finger prints - these are normally found thrown outside. They left a trail of destruction behind them but only money and gold were stolen.
But as most residents called for a greater presence of uniformed police officers in the locality, others called for residents to be on the lookout for any suspicious behaviour and report this to the police.
"We have to be on the look out, we have to work with the police," one resident said.
Other residents called for the installation of CCTV cameras to serve as a deterrent, including live cameras monitored by the police.
Home Affairs Minister Manuel Mallia said the Sliema police station would be bolstered by six newly reinstated police officers. He said patrols by plain clothes police officers had been stepped up over the past months to counter the spate of theft.
Responding to criticism at what one resident described as the police's inability to catch the criminals, Dr Mallia said it was not easy catching what appeared to be professional criminals.
At one point he let slip the difficulty of controlling those who came into Malta via the catamaran, in what appeared as a suggestion that the thefts were perpetrated by foreigners.
The meeting was also attended by Acting Police Commissioner Ray Zammit and other police officers.
There were 29 reported burglaries from occupied dwellings in Sliema between January and June, contrasting with 33 cases last year.