This significant allocation aims to maintain and strengthen security in the municipality, as reported by the Security Department. Mayor Mariola Vargas emphasized that these acquisitions are preventive tools, hoping their use will be minimal.
“"These are the typical things that are bought to never be used, like good emergency services, such as the local police. Hopefully, none of them will ever be used. We want Collado Villalba to be increasingly safe, for residents to feel more secure, anywhere, at any time in their lives, and to prevent problems thanks to new technologies. Almost everything works with artificial intelligence, which is here to stay to improve the lives and security of all residents."
The investment includes the addition of four new drones, joining the two already in service, for the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Unit. This unit comprises five agents specialized in their operation, trained for night operations, in mountainous areas, and with crowds. Among the new equipment is a DJI Matrice 4T with a thermal camera, laser rangefinder, and artificial intelligence for facial and license plate recognition, as well as a safety parachute. A DJI Mini 5 Pro and two DJI Neo drones have also been acquired, the latter suitable for enclosed spaces such as homes or hospitals. The cost of the drones amounts to over 17,000 euros.
“"We are eager to test it at festivals and concerts and so on. We have a device for the May festivals of El Gorronal."
In addition to the drones, a hundred service firearms for the Local Police have been renewed. The previous weaponry, over 20 years old, posed risks of material fracture and malfunction. The new model chosen is the Glock 45, which meets police quality standards for reliability, precision, and safety, and offers greater cartridge capacity. Along with the weapons, the service holsters for all 98 agents have been renewed, opting for the Safariland 7360 ALS/SLS model, which combines three levels of anti-theft security. This part of the investment totaled approximately 98,000 euros.
Finally, three new state-of-the-art taser guns (Taser 10 model) have been acquired, complementing the already operational Taser 7 devices. These non-lethal electronic control devices offer greater capacity and range, firing up to ten individual probes up to almost 14 meters, compared to the two cartridges and seven meters of the previous model. The Taser 10 improves accuracy and safety, allowing multiple sequential long-distance shots and minimizing physical risk by being designed for neuromuscular incapacitation. The cost of these three tasers was approximately 39,000 euros. The Collado Villalba Local Police has only used this type of non-lethal weapon on one occasion, during an operation in the P-29 industrial park.
