"THEY ARE NOT MEMBERS OF THE STATE SECURITY FORCES", HE POINTS OUT

Ports acknowledges lack of resources in its Police but calls to "not confuse" its work after the Arrecife fight

"They will end up demanding guns and the Ports Law does not contemplate that the function of the Port Police is to resolve this type of conflict", said the president of the Las Palmas Port Authority, Juan José Cardona

August 20 2019 (23:19 WEST)
Ports acknowledges the lack of resources in its Police force but calls to "not confuse" their work after the Arrecife fight
Ports acknowledges the lack of resources in its Police force but calls to "not confuse" their work after the Arrecife fight

The president of the Las Palmas Port Authority, Juan José Cardona, has acknowledged the lack of human and material resources denounced by the Professional Union of the Port Police after the massive fight that took place on Saturday in the leisure area of the port of Arrecife. However, Cardona has called for "not confusing" the work of the Port Police with that of the Local Police or the Civil Guard."They are not called to carry out citizen security tasks because they are not members of the state security forces," he said in an interview on Radio Lanzarote-Onda Cero. 

"If there are problems of a public order nature or any other type where the presence of the Local Police or the Civil Guard is necessary, the Port Police has to demand the presence of these bodies," said Cardona, who does not believe that "it is good to transmit the message that the Port Police is competent to resolve this type of conflict.""And I say this, because if we believe that this is really the case, they will end up demanding guns, weapons, and the Ports Law does not contemplate that the function of the Port Police is this, but quite the opposite," he added. 

In this regard, the president of the Port Authority has explained that the work of the port police officer, which has its origin in the dock guards, is to be the eyes and ears of the Port Authority for the proper functioning of maritime activity", that is, to check "that the services are provided correctly.""And it is true that many times they encounter situations of tension and we are also sensitive when accepting some demands, but this cannot mean a transformation of the nature and powers of this body," he pointed out. 

In addition, the president of the Las Palmas Port Authority hopes that what happened in the port of Arrecife is "an isolated situation". And it is that, he has stated that, despite speaking "quite frequently with the active forces of Lanzarote, both with the City Council and with businessmen, this issue has never been raised as a serious problem." However, he hopes that "the competent authorities in matters of security will remedy with controls", something for which, however, he has extended the hand of the Port Authority to "collaborate". 

 

He affirms that staff increases depend on the State


Regarding the lack of human resources that he has acknowledged, Juan José Cardona has pointed out that it not only affects the Port Police, but also "the entire organizational chart of the Port Authority", stating that he is "aware" of the need to increase staff. However, he has stated that "unfortunately" it is a decision that the Las Palmas Port Authority "cannot take unilaterally."

"We are part of a Spanish port system that is also controlled by the Ministries of Finance and Public Administrations, in such a way that we cannot approve staff increases in our budgets, but we need these ministries to authorize Puertos del Estado, which in turn would have to authorize the Port Authority," he explained. 

However, given that also "the staff of the Port Authority are aging little by little", Cardona trusts "that in the most immediate future the staff will begin to be equipped with the personnel they need." 

The president of the Port Authority has concluded by stating that what is "planned" is "the incorporation of the material resources that the port police demand", specifying that the agents will be provided with bulletproof vests. 


 

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