The Local Police force will use geolocation to follow the religious floats during Semana Santa in this Costa del Sol town, along with drones and 400 security cameras, plus 160 officers assigned exclusively to policing the processions to ensure public safety
Marbella is boosting its safety and security arrangements for Holy Week with 650 Local Police officers on duty, 160 of them assigned exclusively to the processions and 490 on regular duties, as well as making the most of some advanced technological resources at the town's disposal.
To this end, the operation will also include 400 video surveillance cameras deployed throughout the municipality, bodycams worn by officers along the procession routes, drones for image capture and geolocation systems to monitor the exact location of the religious floats ('tronos' in Spanish, literally 'thrones').
The councillor in charge of these arrangements, José Eduardo Díaz, stressed that the main objective "is to guarantee the smooth running of the processions and ensure the safety of residents and visitors alike, as well as ensuring traffic flow and control, given the expected high volume of people".
For this reason, several coordination meetings have been held to finalise plans for handling all security, safety and emergency situations that might occur across Marbella, San Pedro Alcántara, Nueva Andalucía and Las Chapas. These meetings were attended by municipal officials, together with commanders from the Local Police, National Police and fire brigade, Civil Protection and traffic management specialists, among others.
Díaz explained that coordination of Holy Week activities will be handled centrally from the command and control room at the Local Police headquarters and the aforementioned technical resources will be used to monitor images relayed there.
"The municipal emergency plan will be activated on the days with the highest [expected] attendance, such as Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Sunday," he said.
He then added that Local Police officers will be joined daily by 25 Civil Protection volunteers, a permanent team of 15 firefighters and additional medical support with two ambulances in Marbella and one in San Pedro Alcántara, all on standby throughout the processions. Furthermore, the National Police will be involved and there will be an extended healthcare service with additional resources beyond the usual service provided.
Lastly, Díaz requested the public's cooperation regarding the scheduled road closures and detours, which can be found on the town hall's website, the Avanza public transport company's website and the official social media channels of the Local Police.
He also recommended avoiding the use of personal mobility vehicles in procession areas, keeping pets properly restrained, not allowing children to sit on the kerbs along the procession routes, respecting traffic laws and exercising extreme caution while driving.
