Just eight fines have been issued so far this year against nightclub owners who admit underage clubbers compared with 33 in 2013, official figures show.
The figure is a far cry from the number many believe are frequenting the adult-only destination.
“There are hundreds of underage youths in Paceville every weekend. This is a big market that has been growing, not shrinking, for many years now,” veteran DJ and Paceville staple Mark Zammit said.
Police sources said between 15 and 30 fines were issued annually in previous years, peaking at around 50 in 2004.
However, sources said this had not proved to be a deterrent. “Even when fines were being dished out frequently the situation had not changed much as the clubs make up the money in minutes from drinks.”
Admitting under-17s into nightclubs is illegal, unless special permission is sought from the authorities. The penalty is €233 per underage patron discovered on the dancefloor.
Despite this, many Paceville establishments regularly admit underage clubbers, with some specifically organising events aimed at younger crowds.
“There are many clubs which target younger crowds, particularly in the early stages of the evening, between 10pm and 1am,” Mr Zammit said.
Around a third of the 74 young people injured when a nightclub’s glass banister railing collapsed last week were under the legal drinking age.
Some of the injured youths were attending a surprise party organised for another underage girl. One of the youths was just 13 and many of those who had been at the club on the night said they frequented Paceville religiously.
I’ve been coming here since I was 15 as have most of my friends
“We come to Paceville every weekend. I’ve been coming here since I was 15 as have most of my friends. I’d say it’s the most popular thing to do on a weekend for people my age,” one underage clubber said.
Carlo Schembri, one of the club’s directors, defended the disco’s entry policy.
“We’re not shirking our responsibility but with a turnover of thousands of people every night and most coming in big groups, it’s simply not realistic,” he said when asked why youngsters were not asked to show identification.
Police investigations and a magisterial inquiry have since been launched into last week’s incident and the government has pledged to review the penalties for nightclub owners who do not enforce stricter door polices.
Government sources said among the measures being discussed internally were significantly increased fines that could amount to “thousands of euros”.
Other options being discussed, the sources said, included a temporary suspension of nightclubs’ licence to operate in the case of repeat offenders. However, these and several other changes are still up in the air as the government has launched a public consultation exercise.
Anthony Farrugia, who heads a lobby group of parents concerned about Paceville security, said stricter penalties were “all well and good” but they needed to be effectively enforced.
He said it was not clear whether the drop in fines showed that police were not doing their job or that less youngsters were frequenting nightclubs. What was clear, however, was that police presence and effectiveness in the area was still not up to scratch, he said.
Nightclub owner Mark Grima said it was “obvious” to those familiar with Paceville that underage youths were still frequenting the area. And, although he too was in favour of harsher penalties, he hoped enforcement would happen “across the board”.
“This isn’t just about Paceville, which does need improved enforcement, it’s about bars and establishments across the whole island. If we don’t see that this problem is widespread, we will be missing the wood for the trees,” he said.