Jane explained that earlier today, she embarked on her usual morning walk when two men approached her and asked her if she takes cocaine.

“I was on my morning walk and two seemingly North African men approached me. One of them asked me if I actively take cocaine and kept insisting for me to take some. At that point he actually opened his fist and presented me with a small baggie of the drug.”

“He was persistent for a while and I just told him to leave me alone as I was just on my morning walk. I then started walking back toward the LOVE sign and I could feel them walking behind me. One of them started whistling and before I knew it, there were three men.”

“I was wearing AirPods but switched off the music as I became extremely uncomfortable and felt very unsafe as there were no other people around. So, I started jogging until I reached another guy walking ahead of me.”

Jane eventually made it to the St Julian’s police station where she reported the men.

She was informed that the police would send someone to check, however she didn’t stick around to wait.

This incident serves as an unkind reminder of how unsafe it is to walk alone.

It also strengthens arguments to increase police patrolling in these areas, especially somewhere like Spinola where Malta’s club hub is only a ten minute walk away, meaning that it is often crawling with intoxicated people during the early hours of the morning.

“Too many times have I walked in that area and people are still drunk and pissing in public at 6:30am,” she recounted.

“This has ruined that walking spot for me now.”

This comes less than two months after police announced they were going to start patrolling a stretch of the Sliema promenade from 5am to midnight.

This was triggered by calls for an increase in security presence after the Sliema mayor faced aggression from a group of public urinators.

It seems as if the lack of safety has only continued.

PN MP Eve Borg Bonello has also spoken out about this incessant issue, asking “what happened to the promised police patrols in Sliema?”

She went on to demand more police presence in Sliema due to the town’s high crime rate.

“People, especially women, deserve to feel safe.”

These reports should not be taken lightly. Malta has seen enough tragedy on its streets that could have been avoided if more security was present in public spaces.

Paulina Dembska lost her life at the hands of a man who followed her on the Sliema front only minutes away from Spinola. Let us not allow this to happen again to anyone else on the island.

Lovin Malta has reached out to the police to follow up on whether any investigations into the report will ensue. We are currently awaiting a response.

Do you think that police patrols in Spinola and Sliema should be increased during early morning hours?