Directing school traffic

Although a common sight in the UK you hardly ever see police walking the streets here - they normally patrol in their cars. The only time I ever see a policeman out of his car is either directing school traffic, crowd control at fiestas or at the bar having a coffee!
However, it is the dawn of a new era in Benidorm as we now have "community policing", with officers patrolling in three designated areas - the Old Town, Centro - which includes the main Avd Mediterraneo and the Rincon de Loix.

Initially there will be 6 officers to patrol the three areas - the beach front promenade is not included as it has separate police personnel. I have also seen a plain clothed officer along the Avd Mediterraneo - however the walkie talkie and gun stuffed into the back of his jeans was a little bit of a give away to me, but great to see that they are taking an active stance.

Camera control room

The Town Hall are endeavoring to address the issue of security in the resort. The installation of four CCTV cameras on the streets of the Rincon area back in September was the first stage of increasing visible safety measures - particularly in areas targeted by pick pockets.

David, Elaine and Howard

It is thanks to people like David Garcia and Howard Stirrup of "British Benidorm" that the security issue is constantly a thorn in the side of the police. The pair are active spokespeople for the group as both have businesses in the Indoor Market - whose main clientele are Brits, so have their best interests in mind.

I spoke to the pair during the week and they are delighted that there will now be a visible police presence - they will campaign for more officers and the next item on their list is a police station in the Rincon area - and most importantly with English speaking staff. Well done boys - keep up the good work.

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