The Local Police of Arrecife commemorated the day of its festivity with the celebration of the solemn ceremony of awarding official badges of permanence in active service to eleven of its agents in an event that took place in the Plenary Hall of the municipal council and was presided over by the mayor of Arrecife, Astrid Pérez, who was accompanied by the police councilor, Jacobo Lemes, and the deputy chief commissioner of the Local Police of Arrecife, José Antonio Lasso.
At the opening of the event, Astrid Pérez referred to the Arrecife police force, highlighting that "they have a profession with a very high level of vocation, and we see it reflected every day in the streets of our municipality. We have agents committed to our city, who watch day and night for the safety of our municipality, whatever time the clock marks."
“In the last three years we have worked hard to reinforce the necessary instruments for the work of the local police in Arrecife, and we have also promoted, since I arrived at the Mayor's Office, that new agents join the municipal body,” said the mayor, who also highlighted that thanks to the work of the agents "crime in the municipality has decreased considerably."
For his part, the police councilor, Jacobo Lemes, in his speech wanted to “congratulate the members of the capital's Local Police, in general, and those who today receive their well-deserved distinctions in particular, who represent the invaluable work carried out by all the members of the Local Police of Arrecife who do an invaluable job in maintaining security in our streets”. In this sense, Lemes highlighted that “Arrecife is not understood without its police force, so thank you very much for the work they do for this city and its citizens” and announced “the corporation's commitment to create the regulations for distinctions.”
The official act included, as it could not be otherwise, the intervention of the deputy chief commissioner of the Local Police of Arrecife, José Antonio Lasso, who, in addition to highlighting the enormous work of the agents, stressed that “we are living in difficult times that require a greater effort from our agents; although in the last year, as in the immediately preceding ones, we have incorporated new and very important material resources for the local police.”
Lasso once again recalled the need to expand the police force to face the challenges posed by a city like Arrecife, highlighting that “we are getting the best tools to better serve the citizens. I am pleased that we will finally inaugurate new police facilities in the coming dates, which we urgently needed.”
In any case, Lasso pointed out, “despite the marked lack of staff, we continue to achieve our objectives, in terms of time, means of response and monitoring of issues, which is less than 20 minutes and more than 80%, respectively, and we continue to be among the best local police in our autonomous community, in terms of the average of services per agent activated and resolved. That says a lot and well of our professionals.”
Subsequently, the act of awarding official badges for permanence in active service in the Police Forces of the Local Police of the Canary Islands took place, the purpose of which is to be recognized by society as a whole for their continued dedication to police service, as well as their correct trajectory, and that will allow the distinguished agents to use them as an integral part of their official uniform.
Specifically, eleven police officers were distinguished for their long-standing permanence in police service. The decorated agents have been, on the one hand, officer Julián Méndez Lorenzo who received a distinctive plaque for his permanence in active service for thirty-five years; on the other hand, the four agents Juan Manuel Clar Allí, Vicente Daniel Robayna Reyes, Juan Carlos Rojas Hernández and Jacinto Fernández Rojas, respectively, who were awarded the distinctive cross for their permanence in active service for a period of twenty-five years and, finally, José Miguel Ortega González, Pedro Antonio Barambio Hernández, Carolina Gutiérrez Martín, Jonathan Rodríguez Llorca, Francisco Javier Curbelo Rosa and Segundo Ramírez Socas, in recognition of their twenty years in the police force.
Subsequently, recognition was also given to the services provided to the nine agents who have retired over the last year, for whom the mayor of Arrecife, Astrid Pérez, wanted to have “words of gratitude and admiration towards these agents who dedicated their entire lives to this body, and who fortunately for them are already, from this year, in their retirement stage."
Specifically, the members of the Local Police of Arrecife who are moving to the retirement stage are: inspector Tomás Duarte Torres, officers Francisco Suárez Rodríguez, Francisco Guzmán Rodríguez Reyes, Miguel Ángel Hernández González and Jorge Padrón
Perdomo; and the agents, Jesús Betancort De León, Juan Ernesto Saavedra Bermúdez, Leandro San Ginés Gutiérrez and Francisco Concepción Rodríguez.
After the act, a toast was held for the members of the body in the Recova space, as well as for their families and other people who attended the official commemorative act of the day of the Local Police of Arrecife.