Palma residents call for crime prevention

A group of Palma residents have decided to take neighbourhood security into their own hands. The Es Molí des Rafal-Vivero Resident Association yesterday handed over an 800-strong petition to Palma City Council demanding that immediate and effective action be taken to stamp out rising crime in the neighbourhood. The association's secretary general Joana Serra, said that residents have been “fighting” for years to wipe out crime from the area, but need help from the local council and the local police. The area is also dotted with abandoned and dangerous properties, the largest of which should have been demolished to make way for a park, but the building remains standing and is a popular gathering point for young gangs and drug addicts. “It's merely attracting these kind of people into the area,” Serra said. “We want to see crime prevention, not just punishment,” she added. But even she admitted the situation is now difficult to deal with and even the police are getting frustrated and fed up with the lack of city council support. “The police have even told us to hire a private security company,” Serra said. While residents eagerly await the city council's response, the association is going to start legal action in order to have the demolition order on the “Cases de Son Ametlle” building enforced. Serra said that 18 months ago, the association submitted a proposal to the city council that the abandoned building be transformed in to the Balearic Naturai Science Musuem, which in turn would help revive the area, but the response was negative and the crumbling building has been left untouched ever since. This latest incident serves to yet again to highlight the growing safety concerns in Palma.