The Local Police of Santa Coloma de Gramenet (Barcelonès Nord) adds a new element to the modernization of the police force, single-person recording devices that the agents will have incorporated into their uniforms. For the moment, the pilot test will be carried out with nine cameras in the Rapid Intervention and Support Unit (USIR) and the citizen security patrols.
The mayor, Núria Parlon and the Councilor for Security, Salva Tovar, accompanied by several commanders of the Local Police and the Mossos d'Esquadra, have presented the new devices within the framework of the reinforcement operation during the Christmas campaign. The cameras, according to Parlon "are a security element that helps guarantee the safety of the agents" but also as an "evidence factor that allows sentences to be increased," explained Ivan Nogales, USIR sergeant.
Once the pilot test has been completed, the City Council will acquire fifty of these cameras next year. Initially, the first nine camcorders have a cost of close to 2,000 euros. These are third-generation Axon Body Cam 3 devices that will contribute to improving citizen safety, but also that of the agents. According to Nogales, a study by the Foral Police of Navarra shows that, with the use of single-person cameras, “attacks on police officers have been reduced by 50%.”
As detailed by the mayor of the city, Núria Parlon, the Local Police will be equipped in a first phase with the devices that, as she explained, “are a security element that guarantees the physical and legal security of the officers and also of the citizens themselves.”
In parallel, Núria Parlon explained that the primary objective of the Special Christmas Security Plan lies in "ensuring protection during the Christmas holidays and the Winter Festival", highlighting that during these important dates there is a significant change in the socioeconomic activity of Colomians, which directly affects their purchasing and mobility patterns in the city. For this reason, he has emphasized the importance of being alert to possible criminal behavior that could have a more direct impact on the city's inhabitants, highlighting the reinforcement of the proximity of the agents "with a significant deployment of foot patrols that will take carried out in the main commercial hubs and at points of police interest to prevent crimes against property, mainly possible robberies or thefts.”
Along the same lines, the mayor has indicated that "control will also be intensified on public transport and on the entrance roads to the city, the police presence will be increased in commercial environments, festive events and large events, joint patrols with Mossos d'Esquadra to ensure and guarantee the security of the Christmas holidays and controls will be increased to combat driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs.”
