A force to be reckoned with in Javea, Costa Blanca

JAVEA’s Policia Local attended to 7,418 incidents that occurred in the Costa Blanca town last year. Giving details of the force’s annual report, Chief Superintendent Jose Antonio Monfort drew attention to an increase in the occasions when the Policia Local were needed for help, ranging from requests by Social Services to providing support in health callouts. The townhall kept that in mind when renovating resources, and the two latest four-wheel-drive vehicles acquired for police use are equipped with a defibrillator, enabling officers to act rapidly in situations requiring CPR. Assistance of this kind was required on 700 callouts, while the remainder was split evenly between administrative, traffic and public safety operations, Monfort explained.
Forty-six per cent of the incidents occurred between June and September when Javea’s summer population peaks although April, coinciding with Easter Week, was also busy for the Policia Local. Javea’s Policia Local now have four cars, three off-road vehicles and a van, together with a boat and jet-ski for coastal surveillance. Thirty per cent of police alerts were made via the 112 emergency number, with an average response time of 11 seconds, the Chief Superintendent revealed. Public Safety councillor Pepa Gisbert congratulated him and the officers for their efficiency, especially now that Javea’s Policia Local are short of personnel following several retirements and official restrictions on taking on more staff.