The Paceville area will become safer with the installation of five new security cameras offering round-the-clock surveillance and peace of mind to both foreign and local visitors as well as residents, the Parliamentary Secretary for Tourism, Mario de Marco said.
The cameras will be installed at St George's Bay, Dragonara Gate, Wilġa Street corner with Paceville Avenue, St Rita's Steps, Paceville Square and Gort Street corner with St George's Road.
Together with an already existing camera near the Hilton roundabout, the set-up will provide a comprehensive coverage of the entire Paceville area. Apart from providing a deterrent, the devices will offer the opportunity of 24-hour surveillance and help the police identify possible illicit behaviour, Dr de Marco pointed out.
He explained that the installation of the cameras formed part of a pilot project aimed at monitoring localities considered to be tourism priority areas. In fact, a similar project was being discussed for the Buġibba area.
Dr de Marco insisted that such initiatives in popular areas helped ensure the safety of both tourists and locals and enhance Malta as a product and destination for tourists.
Asked whether such systems would intrude on people's privacy, Dr de Marco said this was a small price to pay for peace of mind in a highly-frequented area like Paceville where incident reports were also high.
He explained that the Malta Tourism Authority will be funding the purchase of the five cameras, each costing about €1,000, and will be coordinating the implementation of the scheme that will then be operated through the local council's funds. KDM Group of Companies will be responsible for installing and operating the system.
St Julians mayor Peter Bonello said that, hopefully, thanks to the new cameras, residents in this area could have peace of mind that their property would not be vandalised as had happened in the past.
The MTA's CEO, Josef Formosa Gauci explained that the authority felt that the installation of the system in the area was important from a tourism point of view once the place was so popular with tourists and was the location of various five-star hotels. The CEO of KDM, Kenneth De Martino, said the control room, based at the KDM offices, would be manned 24-hours a day by trained staff who worked closely with the police. "We are not replacing the police but supporting them," he stressed. If KDM spotted an incident, it would alert the police and pass on any footage needed for investigations. Any other footage was stored for a maximum period of two days as agreed upon with the Data Protection Commissioner who approved the project, he said. Footage would only be used for enforcement purposes.
He added that the cameras were positioned out of reach and made of sturdy material but this was no guarantee against vandalism because cameras had been destroyed in the past. In fact, in 2002, five CCTVs had been installed but only one survived.