Effective neighbourhood watch initiatives require the collaboration of businesses, police on the ground, residents’ associations and private security companies.

A neighbourhood watch could have a significant impact on crime in the Sliema area but would be complicated by the sociological make-up of the locality, according to a leading criminologist.

Saviour Formosa told the Times of Malta the large number of foreign residents, businesses and people visiting Sliema for entertainment purposes would make it extremely difficult for any neighbourhood watch to identify offenders and operate effectively.

“Conceptually, neighbourhood watches can work anywhere but, so far, wherever one has been started there hasn’t been the public interest to sustain it,” he said.

According to Dr Formosa, effective neighbourhood watch initiatives require the collaboration of businesses, police on the ground, residents’ associations and private security companies.

“But there’s a cost involved and, in my experience, most people don’t want to pay,” he said.

Calls for the creation of a neighbourhood watch in Sliema have been triggered by a sudden spate of thefts over the last few weeks. Thieves using sophisticated tools, such as ‘bump keys’, have burgled more than 15 residences since the beginning of August, targeting apartments and making off with cash, jewellery and electronic equipment, according to the police.

Sliema mayor Anthony Chircop, however, said that, although residents had shown interest in a neighbourhood watch during a meeting with police last Monday, nobody approached the council subsequently.

“The police have offered their help in the event that a neighbourhood watch is organised and the council is prepared to play its part but, so far, there haven’t been any people who’ve come forward,” he said.

Mr Chircop suggested that, given Sliema’s size, a neighbourhood watch would have to operate separately over different areas and could begin with a trial on a smaller scale.

“If there is a group of people interested in safeguarding a number of streets, we can give it a try,” he said. “But those who want to put their name forward now have to commit themselves to its success. It can’t be done just for a short period.”

Neighbourhood watch initiatives have had mixed success in other localities. Last year, the Attard local council announced it would be establishing a watch after marks were found on home intercoms, the same mode of operation used by professional thieves in Sliema. One year later, however, nothing has come of the initiative and the locality’s mayor believes it is dead in the water.

“It needed more collaboration from residents,” Stefan Cordina told this newspaper. “To be honest, I think it’s lost its scope now. I think increased surveillance by the police is a better solution.”

A similar initiative in Tarxien, on the other hand, is still going strong six years after it began and has been credited by the police with contributing to a decline in crime in the locality.

Wrong perception

Despite the present atmosphere of fear, the number of thefts in the Sliema area actually dropped when compared to last year, Saviour Formosa said.

The total number of theft-related crimes in the first six months of the year increased by about 60, compared to the same period last year. This, however, was driven by a massive increase of 100 in the number of pickpocketing offences, indicating a reduction in other crimes. In fact, the number of residential thefts dropped from 32 to 28 and attempted thefts were down from 15 to just two.

“The moral panic is fuelled by fears of a resurgence of last year, when there was a big spike with a similar modus operandi,” Dr Formosa said. “The crimes are real but the perception that they’re increasing is erroneous.”