In the courtyard of the Tungurahua Provincial Traffic Headquarters, in the San Antonio neighborhood, in Ambato, some of the 30 patrol cars that are not operational due to damage that have not been attended to remain parked.
The governor of Tungurahua, Fernando Gavilanes, indicated that the issue is that in the acquisition of patrol-type vehicles a few years ago, the processes with the insurer were not carried out well.
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And that for that reason, he said, the resources cannot be obtained from the company that insured them and that this means that around 30 units in the province are practically in disuse.
The representative of the Executive said that he cannot specify how long the patrol cars have not been working, but that it is a few months, and that they hope to fix the problem (with the insurer) in order for the vehicles to enter for repair, but that it will not be you know what time
Gavilanes said that this makes police work under limited conditions.
In previous days, he participated in a meeting at the Ministry of the Interior in which the figures for crimes in the country were released. The official maintained that it was reflected there that Tungurahua is the province where there was the greatest reduction in all types of crimes during 2022.
But Danilo Salazar, executive director of the Ambato Chamber of Commerce, disagrees with what the authorities have said that the crime rate has dropped.
According to him, insecurity increased, but in many cases crimes and criminal actions are not reported, so they are not part of the statistics.
He said that on a daily basis said commercial and business union reports countless issues related to extortion, insecurity and businesses that close early for fear of crime.
Salazar remarked that if one takes into account that 30 patrolmen are stopped due to lack of repair, the insecurity situation worsens.
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“If with what we have had it has been insufficient, we have not been able to control (crime), worse with what we had and it is not available. This is a very worrying issue despite the fact that the Tungurahua provincial government delivered a certain number of vehicles (nine patrol vans) a few days ago,” he said.
Colonel José Garcés, commander of zone 3 of the National Police, said that the problem is expected to be overcome so that the patrol cars receive the necessary maintenance, because this reduces the operational capacity of the police institution.
Despite the fact that there are units in disuse, he said that the uniformed officers provide themselves with the means and ways so that the activities can be carried out with the vehicle fleet that is operational, even if that means redoubling efforts.
He recognized the contribution of the Tungurahua provincial government, which delivered nine new fully equipped units.
no patrol
Esmeralda Morales, president of the Centro neighborhood of the Izamba parish, lamented that there are patrolmen who cannot go out to carry out the operations with police personnel because they are damaged.
The neighborhood leader recalled that there was even a patrol car that made its tours of the parish and answered the calls of the population, but that currently when they require emergency care, vehicles from another jurisdiction have to come.
For this reason, sometimes they take too long since they are usually busy in other assignments that correspond to the territory for which they provide their services.
He assured that contrary to what the authorities say that in 2022 the crime rate has decreased in relation to 2021, in this sector and others it is no longer possible to walk calmly even during the day for fear of crime, which for that reason is needed police patrols.
For his part, the Tungurahua Police Mayor, Álex Manzano, assured that the National Police has had excellent results in terms of productivity. During January, more than 22 people were arrested for crimes such as vehicle theft, robbery of persons, and home robbery.
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In addition, 24 cell phones reported stolen, three firearms, two bladed weapons were seized, and 2,611 grams of controlled substances were removed from circulation.
Two vehicles and three motorcycles reported stolen were also recovered. Additionally, 22,250 counterfeit dollars were removed from circulation.
He indicated that in relation to the statistics of 2021 in the previous period there were 82 fewer crimes. (YO)
Source: Eluniverso
Mario Twitchell is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his insightful and thought-provoking writing on a wide range of topics including general and opinion. He currently works as a writer at 247 news agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
