The Independent police union says that the Policia Local in Motril are seriously short staffed; something that they constantly remind the Town Council about.

During July weekends the police staff is overstretched to cover summer commitments, which could lead to mishaps; i.e., not being able to respond to a call out efficiently.

Thanks to the emergency calls to 092 and the demand from the Town Council for them to police festivals and events, they struggle to be everywhere at once, they say.

For example, on the 17th of July, during the Virgen del Carmen fiestas the police had only four patrols (eight policemen) available. These police patrols had to control two separate processions; one in the Varadero and the other in Torrenueva.

They also had to collaborate with the Port Authorities on that day to help with ferry passenger arrivals.

Now, all that without counting on normal duties for a town with a population close to 60,000 in the winter but over double that in the summer.

Yet it’s not only Motril that they have to cover, but Torrenueva, Carchuna and Calahonda, as well.

So, how did they cope? They had three patrols (six policemen) covering the processions (four policemen in the Varadero and two in Torrenueva). That’s not a lot of plods on the ground for such crowd numbers and traffic-directing needs, even if the Guardia Civil are also present.

The remaining patrol was reserved for answering 092 call outs. However, from 18.00h they had to abandon this roll to help out with the procession needs and traffic chaos. During their absence from emergency, call-out duty, there were dozens of calls that went unattended, or better said, told to wait.

So, not enough policemen available for summer needs, which is why the police union highly recommends that the Mayor does something about it before something unfortunate happens – August is going to be even busier, after all.

(News: Motril, Costa Tropical, Granada, Andalucia)