continued from san juan del sur HOME

Mayor Eduardo Holmann chaired the meeting and the Chief of the Rivas Department of the Policia Nacional, Carlos A. Espinosa G. (with the aid of a power point slide show) introduced his concept of policing the area.

Kervin Lopez from Arena Caliente Surf Camp telling the panel, incuding Mayor Holmann (left), and Chief Espinosa (second left), about the problems he has experienced at Yankee Beach.

The SJDS district covers an area of 416 square kilometers and has a population of over 18,000. It includes a long stretch of coastline with remote beaches, rural areas with difficult to navigate roads as well as the growing town of San Juan Del Sur. The plan requires 87 personnel and 11 vehicles (trucks, motorbikes and boats) to provide police patrols. Some areas, such as the beach and beach road in SJDS, would get as many as six officers on 24-hour patrols. Other areas would have two or three officers patrolling for 16 hours a day.

The question period that followed the presentation enabled various members of the audience to express their concerns as well as give personal accounts of their experience of crime in the area. The Mayor and Police Chief listened attentively and made notes of all of the concerns.

The big down side to the meeting was the lack of funding for the proposed plan. Various financing options were proposed ranging from a vehicle donation program to business surcharges.

I spoke to Randall Granja from El Timon Restaurant who is also the President of CANTUR (Chamber of Commerce). He said, “As business owners, we could all take some small and cost effective measures that would help”.

Randall proposed one example; “For instance, each business could purchase a radio for its night security that is on the same frequency as one of the police channels. As well as being extra eyes and ears, they would feel safer. We need to talk more about this and come up with other ideas.”

I also spoke to Mayor Holmann who said, “This is a good plan and one that is needed to keep this area safe. We need to find a way of raising the money to pay for it. We can’t rely on a donation here and there; we need to have a system in place so that the money is there on a more regular basis.”

Home: San Juan del Sur