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British bobbies in Magaluf criticised for not being on the nightlife beat Bobbies on the beach: British officers in Magaluf criticised for clocking off early
(about 3 hours later)
Two British police officers posted to the Spanish resort of Magaluf to help deal with UK tourists have been criticised for clocking off at 10pm. With Magaluf’s nightlife proving a magnet for young British holidaymakers wanting to engage in debauched behaviour – and sometimes criminality – the deployment of UK police officers to the Spanish resort might have appeared a sensible move.
Despite concerns they are off-duty when revellers are out partying and crime is more likely, Sgt Brett Williams, deployed alongside West Midlands colleague PC Martina Anderson, said they had had a good reception. But as the trial on the island of Mallorca nears its end, it is the decision to limit the patrols of the two “Bobbies on the beach” to between the hours of 7am and 10pm – when many revellers are asleep or relatively sober – that has left many scratching their heads.
“We have had no negative comments, they have all been very positive,” he said. “Both the people that live here, the people that have come here on holiday and also the Spanish that have been here as well. Forced onto the defensive by criticism of their clocking-off time, Sergeant Brett Williams suggested that patrolling the resort at night was a possibility. However, with the officers heading to San Antonio, on Ibiza, on Monday for the second week of the trial, after having the weekend off, it remains to be seen whether they will get the chance.
“They have all thought that it is an amazing scene to see a British bobby in uniform.” “We’ll probably end up on the streets at night, but as with any English crime and any English thing that we want to deal with, we need to speak with the stakeholders in the day,” said Williams, who when in the UK is a counter-terrorism officer.
The officers have faced criticism for limiting their patrols, alongside the Guardia Civil, to eight-hour shifts between 7am and 10pm in the Mallorca district notorious for attracting binge drinking British holidaymakers. Revealing that he and his West Midlands police colleague PC Martina Anderson had helped at a domestic violence incident, he said the trial was not about tackling drunken Britons but working with hotel directors, security staff, bar owners and local police to gauge the situation.
Anderson said they had helped at a domestic violence incident and insisted their purpose was not to look for drunken Britons causing problems at night but to speak with locals and tourists to find out what problems they faced each year. Since Monday, the pair have been patrolling in uniform, alongside members of the guardia civil, concentrating on areas frequented by large numbers of tourists including beaches, airport terminals and town centres.
Both the West Midlands officers have previously lived and worked on Mallorca and speak some Spanish. Anderson told the BBC she had completed “three seasons” – the summer party season – in Magaluf about 20 years ago. It was billed as a way of helping the local police deal with Britons who are perpetrators or victims of crime. Around 150,000 Britons visit Magaluf each year, mainly in July and August, according to the Association of British Travel Agents.
When asked if the officers’ presence was a PR exercise, the British ambassador to Spain, Simon Manley, said: “This is about practical cooperation, it forms part of the work we do day in, day out, with the police, with the Guardia Civil, with the authorities, to try to ensure that those more than 3 million Brits who come to these islands each year pass their holidays in safety and security.” The Foreign Office, which funded the trial, planned in conjunction with the National Police Chiefs’ Council, said 500 Britons were arrested in Mallorca and Ibiza in 2011 and 2012, mainly for drink-related offences such as fighting or criminal damage. In 2012 three British tourists died falling from hotel balconies in Magaluf, while reports of rapes and muggings have risen.
According to the Foreign Office, which funded the trial, 500 Britons were arrested in Mallorca and Ibiza – where the officers will begin patrolling on Monday – in 2011 and 2012, mainly for drink-related offences. The UK officers are following in the footsteps of police from France, Germany, Italy, Portugal and Morocco who have already taken part in similar initiatives in Spain. Locals attested that officers from the other countries had worked at night.
Cathie Wood, 46, from Nottingham, visiting the island for the third time this year, described the hours the British officers were on the beat as “a joke”. Asked whether it might have been good for tourists to see a British officer at night, Williams said: “We have met with a lot of people, just actually when they’re sober, not necessarily when they’ve had some drink.”
“People don’t even get out of their beds until midnight to come out and party,” she said. “Where are they when they are partying and the trouble’s kicking off? Two officers is like a drop in the ocean, isn’t it? They’ll make no difference whatsoever.” Defending the officers’ decision not to witness the nighttime antics for themselves, he referred to their previous experience of living and working on the island, which was part of the reason, along with some command of the Spanish language, they were chosen for the assignment. Anderson told the BBC she had completed “three seasons” – the summer party season – in Magaluf about 20 years ago.
Alex Patterson, 21, from Bridgend, south Wales, who has been in Magaluf since Friday with three friends, had not seen the officers and did not know they were on the island. But the hours of patrol alongside the lack of powers of arrest and the fact there are just two of them, have led some to claim it is little more than a PR stunt.
Cathie Wood, 46, from Nottingham, visiting the island for the third time this year, described the working hours of the British officers as “a joke”.
“Where are they when they [holidaymakers] are partying and the trouble’s kicking off?” she said. ”Two officers is like a drop in the ocean, isn’t it? They’ll make no difference whatsoever.”
Alex Patterson, 21, from Bridgend, south Wales, who has been in Magaluf since last Friday with three friends, did not know the officers were on the island.
“We go out at 12 o’clock at the earliest and are home between 4am and 6am, which is probably why we haven’t seen them,” said the social work graduate. “I think it would be a good idea, just at different times.”“We go out at 12 o’clock at the earliest and are home between 4am and 6am, which is probably why we haven’t seen them,” said the social work graduate. “I think it would be a good idea, just at different times.”
The Mallorcan authorities are currently trying to rebrand the resort nicknamed “Shagaluf” by introducing restrictions on pub crawls and drinking in the street and introducing fines for offences such as urinating in the street. On top of the flak they have received, the officers have had to endure being photographed while off-duty, swimming and sunbathing.
Nevertheless, Williams appeared oblivious to the criticism, insisting they had only received positive comments from tourists and residents alike. “They have all thought that it is an amazing scene to see a British bobby in uniform,” he said.
Asked if the officers’ presence was a PR exercise, the British ambassador to Spain, Simon Manley, said it was “to try to ensure that those more than 3 million Brits who come to these islands each year pass their holidays in safety and security.” He said no decision had been made on whether to repeat the trial.
As the officers defended their usefulness, statistics published on Thursday suggested a fall in crime and antisocial behaviour in the resort, although, given the figures were for July, the British officers could not take credit for them.
The number of arrests was down 87% – although starting from a low absolute number of 23 – compared with July last year and the number of balcony falls and guests being expelled from hotels for bad behaviour were both down by 50%, according to figures supplied by the Magaluf Hotel Association and verified by the police.
The Mallorcan authorities have been desperately trying to rebrand the resort nicknamed “Shagaluf” by introducing restrictions on pub crawls and drinking in the street and introducing fines for offences such as urinating in the street.
The tipping point came last year when mobile phone footage emerged of an 18-year-old woman from Northern Ireland giving oral sex to 24 men on a Magaluf pub crawl, egged on by a DJ calling her a “slag”.
The hotel association said the efforts by the authorities in conjunction with local businesses had borne fruit, as evidenced by a reduction in organised pub crawls, with bars in Punta Ballena, where the British officers patrolled on Thursday, reporting revenues down by 40%. It also said there was now less dependency on British tourists.