The National Police has said that its Christmas security plan will begin on 1 December and end on 8 January with 420 officers on the beat.
The National Police explained that the plan began to be drawn up in mid-November, when the first contacts were made with employers’ associations and others seeking to provide information on the safe commerce plan, which has been made available to employers’ associations to collaborate, coordinate and gather as much useful information as possible in order to act as quickly and efficiently as possible.
The head of Citizen Participation of the National Police, Federico Chacón, said that the aim is to make shopkeepers participants in their own security and that they can collaborate with the police as much as possible.
The operational phase of the retail security plan is coordinated not only by the Palma Local Police but also by all the private security hired by the shopping centres, who are also professionals who provide very valuable information to the police forces.
The head of the Provincial Citizen Security Brigade, Fernando Corchero, recalled that the security plan is part of level 4 of the Anti-Terrorism Plan, which means that operations are carried out in places where there is a concentration of people, such as shopping areas, or in busy commercial time slots.
“We want the police presence to be seen, which we know gives people peace of mind,” he said.
Corchero explained that the Christmas holidays are a special time of year in terms of the increase in robberies in Palma, while these crimes are significantly reduced in Playa de Palma.
When asked if this causes saturation of the police force, Corchero reminded the public that the devices are limited, but that they have excellent collaboration with the local police, increasing their effectiveness in making Palma a safer city.