After weeks of great concern among the traders and residents of the port of Ibiza and the La Marina neighbourhood, "things are beginning to calm down". This is what the president of the Association of Neighbours and Traders of the Port, Joaquín Manuel Senén, said after holding a meeting this Tuesday with members of the Spanish Police to discuss the situation of insecurity in these neighbourhoods. A situation that was aggravated a few days ago by the presence of three men who, in addition to the various thefts from shops, had terrorised the traders by committing several assaults.
Senén stated that the situation is now "calmer". This has been helped by the closure of the alleyway that connects Carrer d'Enmig and the Sa Penya neighbourhood, he explained. This alley was closed for the first time at the end of the 1990s, after numerous protests from residents and establishments in the area, where there were serious problems of lack of security due to the high number of junkies who used this street to go to Sa Penya. The alley was reopened a few years ago by the socialist Pep Tur, despite complaints from those affected, who saw insecurity return to the neighbourhood. Now, after several serious incidents, the Consistory took the decision last week to close the access again. A decision applauded by those affected.
Spanish Police sources, meanwhile, have confirmed that the arrival of reinforcements on the island is imminent. However, they have not clarified the number of officers who will be sent to Ibiza. During the meeting with the shopkeepers, according to Joaquín Manuel Senén, the Spanish Police told them that the problem "is under control". However, they have also asked shopkeepers and residents that, if incidents like those of the last few weeks occur again, "as well as reporting them, they should ask for restraining orders" because this "will make the work of the police easier". The three men who have caused such alarm in the port and La Marina have assaulted and threatened several shopkeepers and have occupied at least one flat in the area, from which they were subsequently evicted.