XÀBIA LOCAL POLICE ACTIVATE RAPID REACTION FORCE
The force is made up of 13 police specialists to react and resolve complex situations in town.
As part of the continuous process of improving public safety in the municipality, the Policía Local de Xàbia has activated a new rapid reaction unit known as ERIS (Esquadra Rapida d’Intervenció i Suport – Rapid Intervention and Support Team) which will be responsible for providing first response to violent situations that require a forceful reaction from the local police.
Chief Superintendent José Antonio Monfort explained that the unit is made up of 13 police officers who have received specialist training to provide support to the rest of their colleagues to resolve complex situations. They have also carried out a specialised emergency care course aimed at members of Security Forces which will allow them to care for the injured until first aid responders arrive.
Monfort stressed that the ERIS unit will allow the local police force to be more reactive in resolved certain problems arising from complex situations, such as the control of people, vehicles, incidents out of control as well as surveillance in the urbanisations.
The ERIS unit will be supported by other units that make up the local police force, such as the dog unit (Kosmo and Khalan) which is specialised in the search for missing people as well as anti-drug controls, the drone unit which also assists in the search for missing people as well as fire-fighting (by seeking out hot spot to direct the extinguishing operation, for example) and crowd control for events such as music festivals and the popular fiesta acts of La Cremà and Nits dels Focs.
Mayor Rosa Cardona stressed that the local police force is in a continuous training and improvement process, assisted by initiatives such as the participation in the European Security Forum that has put the town’s security forces in contact with those from Nice, Liege, Turin and Madrid. These initiatives allow the local force to acquire valuable knowledge to apply to their response to situations that occur on a daily basis.
She expressed her gratitude for the work of the chief superintendent, José Antonio Monfort, and of the coordinator, Fernando Gaona, which has allowed this knowledge to be brought to municipality, resulting in the creation of the ERIS unit.
