The Municipality of Panajachel has these days issued a bulletin, “Organización Comunitaria para l. A. Convivencia y Seguridad en al Municipio de Panajachel.” It is meant to provide an explanation for something of the records and motives for the creating the Security Commission and the Security Patrols. Because a lot of the overseas colony in Panajachel has not been fully aware about the reasons for these developments, we offer this extra records.
Over the past five years extortions and kidnappings have increased dramatically in the course of the Department of Sololá. Guatemalans dwelling in Panajachel consider listening to of a person being kidnapped each few days. A fashionable feeling of fear has grown as many questioned who would be subsequent. Because they have been little involved, the volume of this improvement has been unrecognized by means of many inside the foreign colony. Few foreigners were goals of extortion or kidnapping and most of their contacts are with others who are equally uninvolved.
The reality is, however, that Panajachel has been invaded via criminal elements. The loss of budget and corruption on the countrywide level has made it impossible to offer an adequate wide variety of police officers for the city. Only these days (March 2011) the Vice-Minister of Government and the National Chief of Police promised to assign three additional radio patrol motors, 4 police motorcycles and further police to Panajachel.
Much of the criminal pastime is associated with the sports of who has been widely diagnosed as a leader the various the ones working in Panajachel. The wide community of his accomplices and those managed by using him is also well known. Legal motion is seldom taken against them because below Guatemalan law, their crimes need to be verified. Witnesses fearing reprisals constantly refuse to testify. Thus many of the ones captured pass loose day after today.
Although kidnappings have faded in frequency, they’ve persisted until lately. Even in February of this 12 months a member of a major kidnapping ring in the Department of Sololá become security patrol services near me captured in Panajachel in a candle shop near the marketplace. At this time here are fourteen or fifteen participants of this ring that continue to be at big. The growing crook hobby in Panajachel led concerned citizens to restore dormant the Comisión Municipal de Convivencia y Seguridad Ciudadana de Panajachel, hereafter to be known as the Commission.
In August of 2010 an officer of the Ministry of Government in collaboration with the country wide police in Sololá held a workshop to evaluate the worst problems in Panajachel. It concluded that a prime hassle changed into tablets and that the police and the judicial system have been unable to cope with it. It changed into determined to revive a commission on protection that had been fashioned in 2008. At this time a brand new First Officer of the National Police arrived to help rid the neighborhood police station of corrupt officials.
In this reorganized Commission Vice-Mayor Edgar Rodas changed into named as President and direct consultant of the Municipal Council; Juan Manuel Ralón as Vice-President; Teresa Coello as Secretary; and Marina Ben as Treasurer. The mandate of the Commission turned into extraordinarily extensive. It has collaborated with the Universidad del Valle de Guatemala to provide psychological counseling to those affected by traumas during Tropical Storm Agatha and brought psychologists in to offer well being workshops to organizations of youngsters.
In order to set up a digital surveillance machine to assist come across crook pastime, in November of 2010 Commission individuals traveled to Pachalum for a excursion of their virtual protection system that received an global award for using generation to offer safety. By December of 2010, the Commission became able to achieve a digital camera and conducted an indication of ways a digital protection gadget can deter crime and offer evidence against criminals. During this period it became clear that in an effort to have a totally functioning 24 hour system, cameras, monitors and computers could be important. Financial guide for the acquisition of those key security elements is presently being sought.