Busy summer for Palma’s police force

THE Local Police in Palma issued 286 fines over the summer for drinking alcohol, according to the Diario de Mallorca.

The majority of the €18,000 raised from the fines was paid there and then by those who had flouted the law, said Álvaro Gijón, representative for tourism within the city.

The initiative to discourage the Spanish botellón – the drinking of alcohol in groups in public places – was launched in June along the coast and in Playa de Palma, and has widely been hailed as a success.

Although the public consumption of alcohol has not disappeared completely, a great reduction in the amount of incidents has been recorded.

The authorities’ next step in the move to regulate and control the beaches of Palma is to crack down on unlicensed street vendors. So far a total of 1,262 fines have been issued for the illegal selling of drinks and other products, as well as 538 fines for masseurs offering massages to sunbathers.

There have also been 20 fines for urinating in the street, seven for throwing cans, 18 for playing music too loud and 99 for bringing glass bottles onto the beach.

Furthermore, prostitution in the area has gone down considerably, although Gijón was quick to emphasise that the prostitutes themselves have never been targeted by the police, only their clients. 

With the summer drawing to a close, Palma Police Department’s next goal is to reduce the amount of infractions being committed involving dogs. Residents may well be hoping for cleaner streets in the future, free from dog mess.

All in all it has been a busy and successful summer for Mallorca’s police, a fact that Gijón has been keen to point out.