Residents near the former Palma prison: “We want to take our children to school without fear”

PalmApproximately two hundred residents of Cas Capiscol demonstrated this Friday to say "no to crime" and demanded "security, civic responsibility, and respect," as well as "immediate solutions" for the former Palma prison and the nearly 300 people who live there. "We want to take our children to school without fear," "Our children are at risk," and "We want a well-cared-for neighborhood, not a forgotten one," were some of the slogans displayed by the demonstrators with orange banners. The president of the Cas Capiscol Residents' Association, Biel González, called for solutions for the neighborhood residents and also for the inhabitants of the former prison. He pointed out that in recent months, "low-intensity" acts of vandalism have proliferated. "The other day, someone snatched a neighbor's purse, and another person was mugged from behind," he reported, citing the consequences of the tense coexistence that has recently developed between the residents and some of the former prison's occupants. The school has adopted a faculty agreement to reinforce security at entrances, has changed the entrance and exit doors and has put up tarpaulins in the playground to prevent incidents. "And we want to continue like this, but this represents an extra reinforcement and teachers shouldn't have to be police officers," he complained.

To end the insecurity they report, they have demanded that the Palma City Council—with whom they have already met twice and will meet again next Monday—deploy "more police" to the neighborhood and guarantee the safety of the residents.

Although the residents point to the old prison as the culprit for the conflict, they make a clear distinction between the people who live there because they cannot afford housing and those who create conflict in the neighborhood. "Before, the prison was occupied, and now there are stabbings and crimes," explained Cecilia Serra, president of the Cas Capiscol Parents' Association (AMIPA). A neighbor who prefers to remain anonymous stated that "there are people who have lived in the prison for many years" and asserted that, with them, "there has never been any problem." In her opinion, the conflict stems from the arrival of "two gangs that rent cells for 300 euros and sell drugs."

Along the same lines, he dictates two clear solutions for the two profiles found within the old prison: "those with housing problems should be helped by social services, and those involved with organized crime should be removed by the police."

"No to ghettos"

The president of the Palma Federation of Neighborhood Associations, Maribel Alcázar, has emphasized that, "beyond security issues," she has addressed the displacement and social exclusion suffered by people who cannot access housing. "We cannot leave them in a ghetto, a building in ruins where a mix of people with different needs are crammed together," she stated. In this regard, she has asked the Palma City Council (Cort) to implement "more careful and more specific" interventions tailored to the diverse needs of these individuals.