(Neighbourhood Association)

NOTE OF MEETING 21st. October 2013. Villa Gadea, Altea. The following people were represented:- Herminio Navarro. (Policia Local), Antonio Pozo. ( Guardia Civil) David Avilar. ( Guardia Civil). José María Izquierdo, Annette Eberhardt, June Glaum (tel:965846684)and Mike Edwards :Vecinos Cooperando. 1. Introductions / Presentación de nuevos cargos en Vecinos Cooperando. The people attending were introduced. June Glaum will be taking over Mike Edwards’s responsibilities when he retires at the end of November. 2. Current crime levels in the Area / Estadísticas de criminalidad en nuestra área. It was reported that crime levels in the Sierra Urbanizations are currently low, but there are still problems of theft of handbags and jewellery at the Markets and in town Car Parks. With the approach of Christmas, these types of crime tend to increase, and there is a need to keep the public aware of security risks. Residents in Altea tend to be aware of these issues, but visitors to the town may not be. It was suggested that the Police/ Guardia Civil might have a stall, at the entrance to the Market, where information leaflets and advice on crime prevention could be handed out to the public. Mike Edwards reported that the number of “ Alerts” sent out by Vecinos Cooperando so far this year, has fallen from 49 in 2012 to only 9, so far this year. He felt that this was a reflection of the low level of criminal activity in the Urbanizations. There is still also a problem of organised crime gangs operation along the motorway. 3. Promoting the Policia Local Facebook page / Cómo promocionar la página Facebook de la Policía Local. The Altea Policia Local Facebook page, was discussed, and thought to be very useful, but more people need to be are aware of its existence. The Guardia Civil also has a very good web site at www.guardiacivil.es/ This provides National advice and information, and is available in Castellano, Catalán, Inglés,Gallego & Vasco. The site also supports Facebook, Utube and Twitter. Both the Guardia Civil and Policia Local sites allow copy and paste facilities, so it is possible to translate items into a wide range of foreign languages. Vecinos Cooperando will publicise both sites to its contacts. 4. Crime reduction advice to residents / Consejos a los residentes para reducir el riesgo de criminalidad. A range of security advice is available from the National Vecinos Cooperando web site, in Castillano and English. Advice is also available from the web sites of the Asociaciónes de Vecinos, in the Sierra. It was agreed that Vecinos Cooperando would send out reminders to its contacts, to be particularly careful about personal security, over the Christmas period. 5. Maintaining interest in Vecinos Cooperando when crime levels are low / Cómo mantener el interés en Vecinos cooperando cuando el nivel de criminalidad es bajo. There was some discussion about holding a public meeting to raise awareness of security issues, but because crime levels are relatively low, at the moment, it was thought that this would not be well attended. 6. Any other matters / Varios. Herminio raised the issue of the Vecinos Cooperando sign at the entrance to Las Mimosas, which blew down some months ago. The sign is currently at the Policia’s Villa Gadea office. Mike Edwards will contact the President of Las Mimosas and try to arrange for the sign to be re-erected. Representatives from the Asociaciónes raised the issue of the Policia Local HQ, moving from Villa Gadea, which has been rumoured in the town. It was felt that residents in the Sierra would not support such a move, because of the easy parking and access currently enjoyed at Villa Gadea. The Asociaciónes agreed to ask for a meeting with the Ayuntamiento to discuss this proposal. A question was asked about the effectiveness of the traffic cameras at the entrances to the Urbanizations. It seems that these are not currently functioning. This matter will also be raised with the Ayuntamiento. José Maria felt that these two issues, and others, such as traffic and road cleaning problems in the Urbanizations, should be the subject of a meeting with Cllr. Jaime Selles. This will be arranged at a date to be fixed in November. The next Vecinos Cooperando meeting will be held in January, at the house of Annette Eberhardt . Date to be fixed. J.M.E. 21.10.2013. a