73 police reports of violent brawls since 2020, St Julian’s the most problematic area

A total of 73 cases involving violent brawls either in the street or in a private setting were reported by the police force since 2020, an analysis of the corps’ press statements has shown, outlining the extent of the problem following yet another video of a street brawl last week.

On 18 August, footage of a group of around 25 Syrian individuals embroiled in a street fight in Ħamrun did the rounds on social media. According to initial court reports following the arraignment of two individuals involved in the brawl, Abdullah Sheikh Ahmad and Abdullah Ahmed, the dispute arose following an argument over a suspected break-in at Ahmad’s home.

The much-discussed Ħamrun brawl was, however, no exception. In fact,  2020 saw a total of 21 police press statements about episodes of physical violence occurring after an argument between two or more parties, while 2021 saw a total of 32. 20 press statements about the matter were published in the first seven and a half months of this year.

An analysis of these 73 press statements shows that the most problematic locality is St Julian’s (11), followed by St Paul’s Bay (7), Marsa (6), and then Ħamrun, Sliema, Żabbar, and Paola, all featuring in four statements each – a table containing every single report being referred to in this story can be found at the bottom of this article.

While the analysis is based on press reports published by the Malta Police Force, it is possible that the number of violent brawls is higher given that some may go unreported.

Of those 73 physical violence cases, 57 led to grievous or serious injuries for one or more parties involved in the altercation. The most extreme of those cases led to someone’s death on four separate occasions.

While the majority of the reports (49) do not mention specific nationalities, the ones that do refer to individuals’ countries of origin show that 14 Maltese nationals were mentioned in these cases. Three of those mentioned individuals were victims of a crime.

Besides Maltese people, the three most frequently mentioned nationalities were Syrian, Somali, and Spanish.

Twelve Syrian nationals were mentioned in relation to such cases, two of whom were victims of a crime. Nine Somali nationals were mentioned, two of whom were victims of a crime. Eight Spanish individuals were mentioned, all of which were perpetrating a crime.

Both the Labour and Nationalist parties were quick to comment on the matter, with Prime Minister Robert Abela taking a break from his extended vacation to speak to the Labour Party’s One Radio and state that no one will be permitted to turn Maltese communities into ‘jungles’, according to Malta Today.

The prime minister on Saturday condemned the violent brawl, further stating that any foreigners who break the law are not worthy of living in Malta.

As for the opposition, the PN’s home affairs spokesperson Joe Giglio, also on Saturday, proposed better working conditions for members of the police force, immediately deporting foreigners who break local laws, and generally strengthening enforcement.

Giglio further suggested roping in the Armed Forces of Malta into such enforcement efforts, adapting the Criminal Code to better suit modern-day needs, and ending the practice of importing foreign workers to make up for domestic demands.