In a bid to promote safety and warn holiday makers of dangers on the beach, the town hall are putting up signs along the front. They are also planning on printing 2,000 leaflets to hand out but it is unclear where they will be available or who will be handing them out. I can only imagine they will be at the Tourist Information centres and at hotels. Although the sentiment is there, is anyone actually going to read the sign?
I went to have a look and the writing is so small you really need to get up fairly close and much of it is really obvious. Stay out of the sun between 12 - 4; Wear a hat and sunglasses; Drink water frequently; Do not take part in illegal games - referring to the peamen... but I am not aware that they are illegal as such - it is certainly a scam. They do not force people to stop and take part plus how would people know that they are illegal?
At the moment there is only one – close to the burnt out Selomar Hotel at the top end of the Levante beach. I stood close to it for about half an hour on Sunday and despite hundreds walking past, not one single person stopped to look at it. There is far too much information on it – what you need is a big visual sign.
I have mocked up one for the cocktail sellers… straight to the point in my opinion. That will have an impact – perhaps a picture of the dirty floor where they are made too, just incase the message still hasn’t got through. Those that read social media and travel forums will be aware of these cocktail sellers and peamen, but it’s truly shocking how many are not and stop to engage with them.
The police have also launched a mobile app – ‘Alertcops’ allowing registered users to report a crime easily. It is free, very easy to use and has preset options of the category of crime you want to report.
Many do not bother, especially if they are on holiday, but it is really important to do so. Bizarre how they seem to have the time to write about it on facebook, criticizing the police and authorities for not doing anything but not bothering to report it to the police! The authorities can only quote official figures of reported crimes although we all know that these are wildly inaccurate. Please help us to help you – once the new SATE office is open, which is now promised for September you will be able to physically go in and report it – and there will be a fluent English speaker on hand to help you.
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