Police Officers from Callosa de Segura have said that the town is suffering from a critical shortage of officers covering the night patrols around the town which they ascribe to poor organisation within the force.
They say that as a result there has been an increase in robberies in the area while the arrest rate is down by 80%. The officers quote the example of a vehicle recently stolen from the council’s maintenance yard which they say occurred as a direct result of the reduction in the number of officers carrying out the night shift.
Although the car was subsequently recovered, there is still a large quantity of tools and equipment missing worth approximately 5000 euros.
“There have also been a number of other recent thefts” said one officer as he blamed the chaos and poor organization of both the leadership and the government team.
At the root of the problem would seem to be the new working pattern of which there are currently three shifts carrying out patrols around the clock. This means that there is only one patrol on duty within the municipality at any given time. Prior to a recent reorganisation it would seem that there were four patrols. The spokesman said that staff are no longer being used efficiently.
He also warns that the matter should be resolved quickly because, with the approach of the holiday season, there will almost certainly be an upsurge in crime which the force would currently be able to handle.
Francisco Maciá, however, the councillor responsible in the town for the Policia Locale, refuted the officers criticism saying that recently gathered data shows that the crime rate has actually decreased in recent times
He also argues, adding that “during the festive period last year there were hardly any incidents at all during the holiday week.”
