Last Friday it was reported that President Nikos Christodoulides had paid an unscheduled visit, accompanied by the chief of police, to the offices of the Larnaca police command to discuss ways of improving the policing of certain parts of the town.

There had been reports that minor crime was on the rise on the busy Finikoudes seafront and after two men were robbed there on Thursday night the president decided to tackle the problem personally, in what some may have interpreted as a vote of no confidence in his justice and public order minister, who was not at the meeting.

The meeting decided that the policing in the busy Finikoudes sea front would be stepped up and on Friday evening the 20-strong anti-riot team of the police mobile action unit (Mmad) were deployed there until 4am the next day. They were there all weekend, during which seven arrests were made – five of illegals in Cyprus, one person for aggressive behaviour, while there was an arrest warrant for the seventh man detained.

The heavy policing will continue as it has the support of mayor Andreas Vyras, who praised the decisive action, saying there had been many meetings with the Larnaca police command in the recent past with the aim of implementing a coordinated campaign against crime, which was on the rise. There were mainly thefts, assaults and clashes among young foreigners.

All reports stressed that the lawbreakers were foreigners without mention of their nationality. This was revealed by the Edek deputy Andreas Apostolou, who urged the authorities to deport asylum seekers from Syria who committed crimes and to relocate unaccompanied minors that were in Larnaca causing trouble. The migrants were responsible for the surge in petty crime in Larnaca, something alluded to by the president as well. No data has been given about the ethnic origin of the troublemakers.

Is having a dozen or more members of the police anti-riot team patrolling the Finikoudes area, the part of town heaving with tourists, all night a good idea? It is not a good optic for a coastal resort at the height of the tourist season and seeing police in riot gear will make foreign visitors feel uncomfortable, as will stopping young men strolling around to search them and demand their papers. It is what you would expect to see in a police state rather than a tourist resort in a country that takes pride in its low crime rate.

Nobody likes to feel the police presence while taking an evening stroll on the seafront during their holiday and the authorities should bear this in mind. The police can patrol Finikoudes for a few more nights as a warning to the potential offenders but their presence must be discreet because nobody wants to frighten away the tourists on whom the Larnaca economy depends.