Bogota’s interim mayor has confirmed the arrival of an additional 1,500 police officers for the capital beginning December 15, Colombian media reported Friday.
Mayor Clara Lopez Obregon said that the additional officers will go towards the goal of having 1,000 police squadrons in the city.
Lopez said, “This is a promise made some months ago by President Juan Manuel Santos and the director of the National Police General Oscar Naranjo.”
The aim of the increase in police numbers is to “substantially improve vigilance and security in the city.”
According to information from local authorities, as a result of the squadron plan, there has been a 9% reduction in crime in the city over the last four years. Furthermore there has been a 10 point increase in the perception of security by citizens in the last year.