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By Jason Moore WHILE I agree with the Mayor of Palma, Aina Calvo, who is calling for a crackdown on the “gang culture” in Palma I feel that her message was rather watered down as she indicated that “gangs” should not be demonised. It sounds very like David Cameron´s infamous “hoodie” campaign (and we all know that was a dismal failure).

Yes, Palma does have a problem with gangs and yes in some parts of the city people are scared to go out at night. So as a resident of Palma, I would ask our very likeable Mayor..”what are you going to do about it...” Obviously, there need to be a greater visible presence of police officers on the streets (I don´t think having two officers on duty at night in the main city square would be a bad idea.” The tragic incident in which a 16-year-old youth was stabbed to death, allegedly by members of rival gangs, clearly underlines the problem. Palma has changed dramatically over the last five years and it is time that the police is organised to cope with the city´s changing needs. Above, people want to feel secure and I think a zero tolerance policy on gangs is urgently needed. I do fear that there is a danger that this problem could get out of hand unless the authorities and the police act quickly. There are now police officers on duty at some schools and I hope it is a trend that will continue. There is a battle to be fought and I hope the local authorities are prepared.