On Friday, the Las Lagunas Theatre was once again dressed up to host the celebration of the patron saint of the Local Police, during which the awards and congratulations were presented to officers of this local security force. The ceremony was presided over by the mayor of Mijas, Josele González (PSOE), and attended by numerous members of the municipal corporation as well as representatives of the various state security forces.  

During his speech, Gonzalez stressed that the nearly 150 officers who make up the Local Police of Mijas "are of vital importance for a municipality like ours, with 149 kilometres, three urban centres, the outlying areas, urbanisations, more than 93,000 inhabitants and thousands of visitors, but you are all there, giving the best of yourselves, with professionalism, dedication and spirit of public service, making the Local Police an example inside and outside our province". 

In this regard, the mayor valued the collaboration of the Mijas Local Police with other institutions in the active fight, among other aspects, against truancy. "This work would be impossible without your help, thanks to you Mijas has been awarded nationally on several occasions for the figure of the guardian agent", adding that there are still challenges to be addressed, such as the expansion of the workforce, "but I will continue to fight for this goal to become a reality sooner rather than later".

Awards

In total, nine officers have been recognised for their work over the past year. Among them, Adrián Valencia, who has also received the Red Cross for Police Merit for his actions on March 24th, when he arrested a dangerous fugitive with a conviction pending in Great Britain. "This driver went down an avenue, continued along a street and that is where he braked and reversed and literally ran me over; he came after me again, I had to use my service weapon, he continued his flight, a citizen lent me his vehicle and with the support of my colleagues he was arrested", Valencia explained. Another of the agents congratulated for his actions was César Ramírez, who told us how "while inspecting a vehicle from the inside, we came across a strong smell of hashish and found two full bags of hashish pellets in the boot, we found the owner of the vehicle and put him at the disposal of the Civil Guard so that they could proceed with the investigation".

Agents Jorge Garrido and Miguel Sánchez were also awarded the White Cross for Police Merit for 20 years' service and Francisco José Urda, Juan José Ruiz, Luis Javier Martín and Carlos Barranco were awarded the Blue Badge for 30 years' service. Four external congratulations were also awarded to people who, in one way or another, have collaborated with the Mijas Local Police in recent months.  

The Chief Intendant of the Mijas Local Police, Juan Manuel Rosas, highlighted during his speech the professionalism of the officers in the celebration of numerous events in the town, among them, the Cala Mijas Festival, " our organisational work has been recognised in many of the media in Spain". He also had words for those colleagues who have passed away, concluding that "it is worth committing our best efforts to continue working for this wonder called Mijas, because only unity and teamwork will help us to continue to grow".

Recognition by public representatives

The spokesman for the Socialist Municipal Group, Roy Pérez, stated that "Mijas is recognised for being a safe place and we can also see this in the tourist data" and the fact is that "people come to our town because one of the most important factors, apart from our beaches and our gastronomic offer, for example, is the security that we provide thanks to the Local Police. Because security is essential to attract tourism and for the citizens to live with that wellbeing that we deserve".

For his part, the first deputy mayor and spokesman for the Municipal Ciudadanos Group in Mijas, José Carlos Martín, wanted to congratulate the Local Police officers "not only for the work they do, but for the merit they have achieved, for making their work a dignified profession and, above all, for ensuring the safety of all".

For the spokesman of the Municipal Group Por Mi Pueblo, Juan Carlos Maldonado, Mijas is a "tourist reference and also a place to invest, which enjoys the confidence of the people who visit us and security is one of the elements that is also valued, therefore, we are doing well and we have to strive for excellence".

For his part, the spokesman for the Partido Popular Municipal Group, Daniel Gómez Teruel, remarked that this is "a day on which we should thank our security forces who do a job that often goes beyond normality because they are there 24 hours a day, seven days a week giving the best of themselves so that we live in a safe municipality and so that all the residents of Mijas can feel safe". The deputy spokesman for Vox, Francisco Jerez, highlighted the work of the officers saying that "security is paramount, because security is what allows us to live in peace. Then we can talk about cleanliness, health..., but safety in a municipality, for me, is the most important thing".

Vocation

Finally, the video 'Local Police of Mijas, a vocation that transcends generations', produced by Mijas Comunicación, was screened, in which the focus was placed on several local police couples, fathers and sons and daughters, who share their passion for public safety and public service, and a tribute was paid to those officers who have retired in the last year. 

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