The local police department in the capital currently lacks an active psychological assessment service for firearm carrying, as the tender announced in March 2023 has yet to be awarded. This situation has resulted in 50 officers being withdrawn from duty owing to their lack of a license and the inability to take this obligatory examination,” the socialist spokesperson, Florentino Guzmán, stated yesterday during the municipal oversight meeting.
The socialist spokesperson condemned the Councillor for Security, Gladis de León, for “taking a sabbatical year to study the field whilst failing to resolve the issues faced by the force,” highlighting “the absence of bulletproof vests for female officers; inadequate staffing levels, the substandard working conditions in their headquarters, which has merely received a superficial refurbishment, and the lack of essential resources for the officers.”
In response, de León confirmed that “it is accurate that there is a shortfall in personnel within the Police, but 37 new officers will be inducted on probation this November, and furthermore, additional positions will be established through competitive examination: 26 open access and 4 by competitive means, in addition to those concerning deputy commissioners, officers, and commissioners.”
De León acknowledged that the local police force, comprising 320 personnel, is experiencing a staffing deficit, but “efforts are being made to address this.”
She also revealed that among the immediate enhancements for the force “a new surveillance drone for large-scale events will be procured, with the purchase file already under process; in addition to this, a van for the Canine Unit and six new motorcycles and vehicles are being arranged for the officers.”