San Juan, P.R., - The Puerto Rico National Guard is directly supporting the Puerto Rico Police Department to fight crime after an executive order was signed by Gov. Luis G. Fortuño Feb. 2.
On the first phase of this mobilization, Puerto Rico troops will repair police patrol cars that are unserviceable due to an array of mechanical problems and a lack of maintenance.
The troops were strategically sent to specific police repair shops on the island, where spare parts are readily available and waiting for the highly trained Guardsmen to install them.
"I will only send troops to work at those repair shops, where they already have the spare parts ready to be installed on the vehicles and where a full-day of work awaits for the troops," said Army Maj. Gen. Antonio J. Vicéns, adjutant general of the Puerto Rico National Guard. "This way we make sure the operation is cost-effective and highly productive at its best, it's all about quality and production."
"We will be working at approximately twelve of the police repair facilities," said Vicéns. "But that depends on how fast the needed parts are identified and acquired in order to have them available for us."
According to the plan, during this phase more policemen will be available to work on the streets, while the mobilized guardsmen keep on turning-up freshly repaired police squad cars to better combat crime with every day of work.
"This is going to have a very positive affect on police work, because we will now have all the patrol cars available and it will help us speed up investigations by sending fewer agents per vehicle and thus cover a wider area in a faster manner," said Col. Alberto González, regional director of Police Transportation in the town of Aguadilla.
"Also, having more vehicles from the fleet on the daily prevention patrols will make the presence of the police more efficiently felt in the community," he said.
After only seven days, the Guardsmen had already repaired 130 police units, including squad cars, trucks, vans and tow trucks.
Since the very first day on the job, the Guardsmen were expected to have eight patrol cars coming out of every shop ready to rumble for the very next shift that night - ready to "serve and protect."