Residents in St Paul’s Bay are adding their voices to a debate that is becoming increasingly difficult for Malta to ignore: how much policing is enough in localities facing rapid population growth, tourism pressure and increasingly busy streets?
There is an important distinction to make from the outset.
St Paul’s Bay already has Community Police.
According to the Malta Police Force, the locality currently has a dedicated Community Policing Team covering St Paul’s Bay, Qawra, Burmarrad, Xemxija and several surrounding areas.
So the question residents are raising is not simply, “Where are the Community Police?”
It is whether the existing presence is enough.
There is already a dedicated Community Policing Team
The official Malta Police Force website currently lists a Community Policing Team for St Paul’s Bay led by Police Sergeant Ivan Mifsud, together with six constables assigned to different parts of the locality.
- Police Sergeant Ivan Mifsud – Team Leader
- PC Jiacomo Grech – Qawra Police Station & Skate Park Area
- PC Mario Camilleri – Burmarrad & St Paul’s Bay
- PC Pierre-Paul Camilleri – Fra Ben Area & Xemxija
- PC Luke Farrugia – Qawra South
- PC Gabriella Xuereb – Qawra Church & Kennedy Grove Area
- PC Carl Mercieca – Qawra Primary School Area
Residents can find the officers’ current contact numbers and other details directly on the official Malta Police Force St Paul’s Bay page.
The main Qawra Police Station is also listed as operating 24/7 and can be contacted on 2294 3601.
This is important because the issue should not be presented as criticism of the individual Community Police officers already working in the locality.
The real question is whether a team of this size can provide the level of visibility residents expect across such a large and intensely used area.
St Paul’s Bay is not a small seaside village anymore
St Paul’s Bay has undergone an extraordinary transformation over recent decades.
The locality includes St Paul’s Bay itself as well as Buġibba, Qawra, Xemxija and Burmarrad, with residential areas sitting alongside some of Malta’s busiest tourism zones.
Hotels, restaurants, bars, rental accommodation, beaches and entertainment areas bring considerable additional activity to the locality, particularly during the summer months.
This means policing requirements cannot reasonably be assessed solely by looking at permanent residents.
There are also tourists, seasonal residents, short-let guests, workers and thousands of people moving through the area every day. When the number of people using the same streets and public spaces increases, enforcement and policing resources need to keep pace.
Residents were asking for more police presence years ago
This concern is not new. In September 2023, MaltaToday reported concerns from residents and political representatives about crime, vandalism and street disturbances in St Paul’s Bay.
Former St Paul’s Bay mayor and MP Graziella Galea specifically acknowledged that the introduction of Community Police had helped, while arguing that greater police presence on the streets was still required.
That distinction is important. The Community Policing programme can be working and appreciated while residents simultaneously believe that more officers or more visible patrols are necessary.
Read the 2023 MaltaToday report.
Community Policing works best when residents actually see it
Community Policing is fundamentally different from simply having officers available at a police station.
The model is intended to put officers into neighbourhoods where they can develop relationships with residents, understand recurring problems and identify issues before they escalate.
That street-level presence matters.
A Community Police officer who becomes familiar with a neighbourhood may recognise recurring hotspots, problematic behaviour, vulnerable residents or patterns that would be difficult to identify from isolated emergency calls.
It is preventative policing rather than relying exclusively on enforcement after something has already happened.
We already have evidence that it can work in St Paul’s Bay
There is actually a very good example from St Paul’s Bay itself.
In January 2026, Community Policing Inspector Matthew Attard described a case in which information supplied by residents helped police investigate suspected drug trafficking from a residential block in St Paul’s Bay.
According to TVM News, residents provided officers with continuing information, including video footage. Police said this enabled them to conclude the investigation within days, with a suspect subsequently charged and drugs seized.
That is precisely the sort of relationship Community Policing is meant to create.
- Residents know whom to approach.
- Officers know the neighbourhood.
- Information reaches police quickly.
- Problems can sometimes be identified before residents become frustrated and simply stop reporting them.
So what are residents actually asking for?
The call should therefore be understood as a request for a stronger and more visible Community Police presence, rather than a request to create Community Policing in St Paul’s Bay from scratch.
That is an important factual distinction. St Paul’s Bay has Community Police. The question is whether they have sufficient numbers and resources to cover the realities of the locality today.
Prevention is better than waiting for a locality to reach breaking point
Malta’s busiest localities are dealing with pressures very different from those of 10 or 20 years ago.
- Population has increased.
- Tourism has increased.
- Short-let accommodation has expanded.
- Night-time activity has increased.
And in several localities, residential neighbourhoods now sit directly alongside tourism and entertainment areas.
Police resources need to reflect that reality. Community Police cannot replace emergency response officers, specialist units or normal district policing.
But they can provide something those services cannot always provide: a familiar and regular presence inside a neighbourhood. That matters to an elderly resident dealing with recurring disturbances.
It matters to a woman walking home alone late at night or early in the morning. It matters to families dealing with persistent noise or antisocial behaviour.
It matters to businesses affected by repeated disorder. And it matters to responsible tourists, who also deserve safe and properly managed destinations.
This should never become residents versus tourists
The overwhelming majority of visitors to Malta cause no problems whatsoever.
Antisocial behaviour is also not exclusively a tourism problem.
The issue is behaviour, not nationality.
If somebody vandalises property, fights in public, repeatedly disturbs residents, dumps rubbish or behaves aggressively in a residential area, enforcement should follow regardless of whether that person is Maltese, foreign, resident or tourist.
Good Community Policing can help maintain that distinction because officers deal with individual behaviour and recurring local problems rather than stereotypes.
St Paul’s Bay has Community Police. Now make sure residents can feel their presence.
The fact that St Paul’s Bay already has a Community Policing Team should be recognised.
So should the work those officers are already carrying out.
This is not an attack on the Community Police themselves.
It is a question of resources.
Can one existing team realistically provide the level of visibility required across St Paul’s Bay, Buġibba, Qawra, Xemxija, Burmarrad and surrounding areas while the locality continues to grow and summer activity intensifies?
If residents are asking for greater visibility, authorities should listen.
Community Policing has already demonstrated that it can work.
The logical response is to make sure the officers doing that work have the manpower, resources and street presence necessary to make the programme genuinely visible to the communities they serve.
That would be better for residents.
Better for the police.
And ultimately, better for the kind of tourism Malta claims it wants.
St Paul’s Bay Community Police – Official Information
For the latest Community Police officers, areas of responsibility and contact numbers:
👮 Malta Police Force – St Paul’s Bay Community Policing Team
☎️ Qawra Police Station: 2294 3601
🚨 For emergencies or an incident in progress, call 112.