What are the main incidents captured outside the campuses? Guayaquil has 133 institutions with external video surveillance

Starting at 12:30, when the students for the morning session get ready to leave class and those for the evening section arrive to begin their routine, in the vicinity of the Vicente Rocafuerte school there are usually people from outside the institution who take advantage of the agglomeration to rob the students and get lost in the crowd.

Freddy Tola, father of a family, commented that four months ago his son’s cell phone was stolen, who studies in the evening. For this reason, he maintained that the police presence is necessary at the hours of entry and exit of each day.

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“Insecurity is lived outside of every school, of every school. Police protection is needed here until half past one (in the afternoon, when) the evening party enters. Bandits come from other places, who have damaged people; they stop here, they begin to see the students, they begin to appraise them, to see where they are being robbed, how they can be robbed,” the man said.

In the Vicente Rocafuerte area (between Lizardo García, Tungurahua, Hurtado, Vélez and Luque streets), very close, there are two other institutions: the Republic of Costa Rica basic educational unit and the Pedro José Huerta initial education center. For this reason, the sector has video surveillance.

The Guayaquil Corporation for Citizen Security (CSCG) provides coverage to 133 educational institutions in Guayaquil. The entity has at least one camera for each campus.

Until the end of the current municipal administration, the installation of 18 nodes has been estimated, corresponding to 72 more cameras located outside the establishments.

Currently, the city of Buenos Aires has 10,972 cameras, and until July 19, 2023, the installation of 1,364 nodes is expected, that is, 5,456 devices, which will give a total of 16,428 cameras within Guayaquil.

According to information from the Zone 8 Undersecretary of Education, in the Main Port there are 1,332 educational institutions including prosecutors, trustees, municipalities and individuals.

Gabriela Fierro, mother of a family from the Pedro José Huerta initial education center, in Luque and Lizardo García, mentioned that having cameras outside the establishment generates a sense of security, but considers that the police presence should also be added to video surveillance.

The woman said that in that place what is most seen are traffic accidents, since at the time of entry and exit there are many vehicles that come to pick up the students from said center. And to that flow is added the usual volume of the area.

A month ago, Fierro said, there was a collision between two cars, which fortunately did not cause any injuries.

What are the most common incidents captured outside schools?

According to the Corporation for Citizen Security of Guayaquil (CSCG), the first most common incident corresponds to minor traffic accidents, followed by medical emergencies, theft and possession of controlled substances.

Said information covers the year 2022, with a cutoff of January 20 of the current year.

The situations detailed below not only occur in schools in the center of the city considered emblematic, but also in other sectors.

In addition to surveillance with cameras, in the vicinity of educational establishments, the Pumas municipal plan was implemented since the previous year, through which metropolitan police officers and agents from the Traffic and Mobility Agency (ATM) guard 30 schools at entrance hours and departure, both in the morning and in the evening.

The initiative is still in force, even more so when the extortionists have set their sights on educational centers to collect the so-called “vaccines”, money they ask for in exchange for their supposed protection or not to threaten the safety of any person or entity.

Jéssica Zumba, whose daughter is in the third year of high school at the Guayaquil school, pointed out that outside this institution there have also been thefts of cell phones from students. Another problem, she said, is the presence of drug dealers.

The scenario of insecurity in Guayaquil leads schools to reinforce measures to avoid risks to students

To prevent her daughter from exposing herself to this danger, the woman commented that she made an effort to pay her express and to transport her more safely to the south of the city, where they live.

This institution also has external video surveillance, but Zumba said that police patrolling is scarce. “Very rare to see a patrol car here. It’s very rare,” said the mother of the family.

unusual incident

On the morning of Tuesday, January 10, an unusual situation caused alarm among students, parents, and teachers of the Tránsito Amaguaña educational unit, located in the fourth stage of the Balerio Estacio cooperative, in the northwest of Guayaquil.

Three anatomical pieces were found in the vicinity of the campus, inside two jute bags.

As verified by the Police, it was about three legs: two left and one right, which probably corresponded to three different people.

As a result of this finding, the parents asked that security cameras be installed outside that establishment, since there is no video surveillance there. (YO)