Youths are being squeezed out of Paceville by changing social trends and are looking elsewhere for entertainment, according to a senior police officer in charge of the area.

Known as the island’s top nightlife destination, Assistant Commissioner Martin Sammut told The Sunday Times of Malta that Paceville was simply not attracting the same crowds it used to.

“It doesn’t have the pull factor it did in the late 1990s and early 2000s, that much is clear. I believe the area peaked back in 2005 and has been on a downward trend ever since,” Mr Sammut said.

It doesn’t have the pull factor it did in the late 1990s and early 2000s

As the assistant commissioner responsible for Paceville and St Julian’s, among other areas, Mr Sammut had also served as a police inspector in the clubbing district for eight years.

He said that the popular entertainment mecca had, over the past two decades, experienced a “geographic shift”, with the bulk of clubbers moving from one side of the peninsula to the other.

A few years ago, when Mr Sammut was first stationed in the area, Paceville Avenue near the Westin Dragonara was the centre of activity, he said. Popular venues such as Bamboo Club and Snooker Hall (both are now closed) attracted hundreds of patrons every weekend. Nearby bars, he added, handled the overflow.

These later moved closer to the Paceville square, outside Burger King (which used to house Coconut Grove), with clubs like The Alley (also now closed), often enjoying long queues of revellers outside their doors.

Now, however, more and more clubs were choosing to close their doors, rebranding as gentlemen’s clubs or commercial outlets, giving clubbers less choice.

It is not clear whether Paceville’s thumping bass heartbeat will be revived or fade into the night

“This is a shift that happened over time and it’s clear from the reports we receive,” he said.

Mr Sammut believes the concentration of activity was moving further away from the centre, saturating towards the narrow St Rita Steps – close to where the nightclub incident took place last November.

Clubbers, he believed, were being squeezed out of the clubbing haven, and as large construction projects earmarked for the area around St George’s Bay start, it was not clear whether the area’s thumping bass heartbeat would be revived or fade into the night.

The changing Paceville dynamic, he added, was coupled with “the rise of the wine bar” culture, attracting those in their mid-20s and over away from vodka shooters and house music and on to Merlots and smooth jazz. Mr Sammut also believed that many had shifted to Valletta, which was attracting a mix of generations to areas such as Strait Street.

Dozens of younger teens were also roaming the capital’s Republic Street on Friday and Saturday nights, swapping Paceville nightclubs for the new Parliament square and a bite at one of the popular fast food chains.

The neon streets of Paceville on a weekend night are emptier than in its heyday.

Whether Paceville was on its last legs or not remained to be seen, but for Mr Sammut one thing was certain: as long as there were clubbers there would be a bustling drug trade.

“This is, and always will be, a matter of demand and supply. As long as people want to buy drugs, they will be on offer. It’s that simple,” he said.

Mr Sammut said police in the area were waging an uphill battle with the drug market. Just last month officers succeeded in infiltrating a gang of foreign drug dealers operating in the small, shady car park between the Axis club and St George’s Bay.

“This doesn’t mean we have stemmed the drug supply. It just means it’s moved from one location to another, shifting from one pattern to another… and it’s back to the beginning,” he said.

The St Julian’s police station received more than 9,000 reports last year, around double the number dealt with by officers in the Mosta station, where Mr Sammut’s district office is now located.

Thinking back to his days as an officer on the beat in the St Julian’s area, Mr Sammut was the first to admit that being stationed there could be tough.

“Some might look at being sent there as a punishment because of the heavy workload and the challenges the places presents. I looked at it as an opportunity to prove myself and work my way up. But it certainly wasn’t easy,” he said.

What made matters worse, he said, were the conditions officers had to work in. Not only did they have to face a constant stream of stolen handbag reports and neighbours’ complaints, but they also had a police station that was “not fit for purpose”.

“We need to rethink the St Julian’s station, not just discussing whether it should be close to Paceville but focusing on the actual building and facilities available. The current set-up is not adequate and it doesn’t cater for the officers’ and the public’s needs,” he said.

Mr Sammut said several inspectors at the St Julian’s station were all sharing an office and the building was too small for the number of officers stationed there.

A move could soon be on the cards for the station, but where and how was still anyone’s guess, he said.