The operation has been active since days before the gates opened. Canine Guide and Subsoil units have carried out preventive searches at the venue to check its security conditions. In addition, the Mobile Brigade will step up surveillance at Zaragoza-Delicias station given the significant passenger traffic expected over the weekend.
PLAINCLOTHES OFFICERS TO TARGET MOBILE PHONE THEFTS
One of the main risks identified by the National Police at previous editions has been mobile phone theft. For this reason, plainclothes Judicial Police officers will move around the festival to identify possible itinerant groups specialising in this type of crime. Police warn that phones can disappear when their owners are distracted, but also be snatched while people are holding them to record the concerts.
Surveillance will be particularly intense when the venue opens and closes, when the largest concentrations of attendees occur. Officers from the Police Intervention Unit (UIP), Citizen Security and the Aerial Resources Unit will be stationed at the entrances and in the surrounding areas. Police recommend carrying mobile phones in a closed front pocket, keeping bags and backpacks in front of the body in crowds, and recording the phone’s IMEI number to make it easier to identify in the event of theft. In the event of any crime or suspicious situation, people are reminded to alert officers or call 091 and avoid confronting the perpetrators.
FROM VIOLET POINTS TO SAFE SPACES
The operation comes after a 50-year-old man was arrested near Vive Latino during last year’s edition for assaulting his partner. The 51-year-old woman was left in a state of shock, although she did not require immediate medical attention. The suspect was later located by officers involved in the operation, spent the night at police facilities and was released on bail after appearing before a judge.
This year, the city council is using the name Safe Spaces or Safe Points, replacing the former Violet Points. According to the report from the Equality and Women’s Service, the change aims to broaden the situations addressed and target the entire population: these spaces provide information, shelter, support, guidance and referrals in response to any type of violence or situation affecting physical or psychological integrity or health, explicitly including sexual or sexist assaults. They also include prevention and risk reduction related to substances, sexual relations or driving. The change in model has generated political and social controversy since its introduction.
