Jason Moore31/10/2016 00:00
TW
1

"You can never seem to find one when you need one." This old adage rather sums up policing in the centre of Palma at the moment. In fact, I can safely say that I have only seen a handful of police officers on patrol in the city centre over the last six months. Thankfully, crime is relatively low in our city but there are other problems such as illegal street vendors, buskers and beggars. There is a poverty problem in Majorca and this leads to beggars, but I object to some of the antics used by some beggars who can be rather forceful in their approach. I have seen tourists visibly shaken when they are asked for money by a person who is not taking no for an answer.

The problem of illegal street vendors also needs to be tackled. And then of course there are some cyclists, roller-bladers and skaters who seem to believe that the Avenida Jaime III or the Paseo del Borne is their own personal race track. They can be quite dangerous.

So, what we need in the centre of Palma is your good old friendly policeman or woman who can control all the incidents I have outlined above which are against the law and also city council bylaws. There isn't much point the city council introducing laws if they are not policed. Palma is a fantastic city but like everywhere it has its faults. In my opinion they could be easily resolved with a police foot patrol in the centre of the city. Action is needed to make the city a safer and more pleasant place.