Torrevieja is the first town in Spain to have its own neighbourhood watch scheme, modelled on the English system. Last week their first forum was held with the local emergency services to discuss the way forward.

Welcoming the mainly British audience the mayor of Torrevieja said the success of neighbourhood watch schemes was self evident and that other towns were following suit in particular Rojales and Pilar.
The Guardia Civil were in attendance to describe exactly what their job involved so that people could understand their role in the community.  They also gave some practical advice about what to do in case of a road accident.
Special guest Terry McCormick, head of the Thanet (Kent) Neighbourhood Watch scheme, explained how 15 months ago a representative from Torrevieja council had undertaken a fact-finding visit to discover how Neighbourhood Watch worked in England.   Just three months later, the first Neighbourhood Watch forum was held in Torrevieja and the Thanet system (one of the best in the UK) was adopted as a basis for ‘Vecinos Cooperando’. He then explained that the partnership between the police, the emergency services and the community was the key to an effective neighbourhood watch.  Highlighting how the presence of neighbourhood watch helps vulnerable citizens he also said that it provides long-term reassurance to victims of fire, flood or loss as well as burglary and theft.

Dial 112 in an emergency
This was followed by a talk from Alejandro Morer (Chief of the Local Police of Torrevieja) who explained how to report an emergency and stressed the importance of the  emergency telephone number – 112. The 112 system, he explained,  is like the UK’s 999 in that you don’t have to remember various telephone numbers to report an emergency. With just one free phone call, the necessary professional services are activated and co-ordinated in an efficient manner. Another important point raised by Morer was the formula to be used when reporting an emergency - the location, the type of emergency, the status of the situation (is it getting worse?) are there any victims or persons in need of medical attention and any other important and immediate facts that can aid in the rapid detention of the perpetrator of the act such as: car registration number, colour and model (given the case), physical description of the assailant’s, clothes, direction in which he fled and more importantly, personal details and a contact telephone number.
The next talk was given by José Antonio Vidal, chief of Protección Civil in Torrevieja, who explained ‘Protección Civil’ and how these officers help  out in situations where people’s lives and personal safety might be in danger.  The work of Civil Protection is not limited to accidents but they are called on to help out when there is a catastrophe such as a fire or flood. Part of their job is to get help from whatever means are necessary  and José Vidal explained to the audience that  under Spanish law  “all adult citizens are under the obligation to collaborate, personally and materially in ‘protección civil’ if it is deemed necessary by the competent authorities”. Therefore, it is important to know that “we are all protección civil”.
Finally, Raimundo Tomás Chief of the Fire Department in Torrevieja explained his department’s functions and how all the emergency services are tied into the one system. Overall, it was agreed that the forum was a big step towards uniting the community in terms of self-protection and organisation to face possible emergency situations and that many more such forums will follow in the future.