Colombian President Juan Manel Santos announced plans Wednesday to increase the number of security forces in the city of Medellin, which has recently seen a spike in violence due to feuds between warring criminal gangs.
After a Security Council meeting in Medellin, Santos said that new efforts to fight domestic drug trafficking would see the number of policemen in the outskirts of the city increased by 160, and 30 special investigators brought in to fight small scale extortion.
New technologies, such as security cameras connected to license plate readers, will be used to fight crime in a plan being dubbed the “Road Ring of Safety,” aimed at improving police speed and efficiency.
“We will bring to Medellin 20 units, 20 people more from the Dijin and 20 people more from Dipol who will dedicate themselves exclusively to combating microtrafficking,” said the president.
The plan will focus specifically on the neighborhoods of Comuna 8 and Comuna 13 which have seen the most significant increases in violent activity.