Cartagena Council has planned a special operation to ensure security during the Carthaginians and Romans celebrations, which will be held from September 19th to 28th. Mayor Noelia Arroyo presided over a meeting of the Local Security Board, which coordinated the operation involving the Local Police, Civil Protection, Firefighters, state security personnel, and the Festival Federation.
José Ramón Llorca, Councillor for Citizen Security, explained this year’s main new features, which include the installation, in collaboration with Social Services, of a Blue Point or safe space for children and adolescents in the event of violence or harassment, as well as a Yellow Point for people with disabilities, in addition to the Violet Point for reporting sexual assault. “In collaboration with the Federation, closed-circuit video surveillance will also be installed on the premises, with facial recognition,” Llorca told reporters.
The Local Police will be in charge of providing security for parades, shows, and street activities, as well as working with the National Police within the Camp and the Guardia Civil in neighbourhoods and districts.
In addition to usual duties, the service will have 200 police officers, an inspector, and a sub-inspector. Their primary responsibilities will be to control access and parking around the Cartagonova Stadium, clear evacuation routes from the camp and fair, conduct random checks to prevent the use of dangerous objects and drug use, conduct breathalyser tests beginning at midnight, monitor unlicensed street vendors, and prevent street parties.
The operation will be strengthened by the presence of the Special Operational Group for Citizen Security (GOESC), the Air Means Unit (UMA), and the Canine Unit at planned rallies and concerts, the installation of an information booth near the fair, and an interior patrol at the Mediaeval Market from September 24th to closing time. The police have also planned for the arrival of cruise ships on the 20th, 22nd, 27th, and 28th.
The Civil Protection unit provides between 15 and 25 personnel per day, including one ambulance in the mornings and up to four in the afternoons and evenings within the camp. The Fire and Rescue Service, which has been assessing the camp and surrounding area since before the holidays, has updated the Operational Intervention Plan and discussed the evacuation plan outside the camp with the Local Police.
During the ten-day celebration, a preventive patrol of six to seven firefighters will be deployed each afternoon and evening, using a heavy urban fire engine and a light coordination vehicle to cover the proclamation, theatrical performances, fireworks displays, and final preventive patrols at the camp.
Social Services troops will also be activated to combat begging. Street teams, as well as municipal police, will be deployed during the events.
Author: Derek Appleton
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