San Miguelito curfew: Police chief urges expansion after ‘effective’ results

Panama’s national police chief, Jaime Fernández, said a curfew imposed in three parts of San Miguelito had produced effective results and should be extended to other sectors.

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It has been an effective curfew in the three sites where it has allowed us to operate. We are urging its expansion to other sites without affecting commerce or revenue management for municipalities and local districts.

Fernández said any expansion should avoid harming commercial activity or municipal income. He did not specify which areas could be added or when an expanded curfew might begin.

He credited the measure adopted by San Miguelito’s mayor with improving results, while acknowledging that incidents had occurred in other locations and at other times. Police would continue working on those cases and conduct the corresponding investigations, he said.

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The mayor’s decision on curfews has produced results, although we have had some incidents in other places and at other times that we need to address and investigate.

Fernández spoke after a meeting at the Panama Municipal Council. Representatives from local districts requested a larger police presence in their communities and discussed strengthening the Vecinos Vigilantes, or Neighbors Watch, program. Fernández described the meeting as positive and praised police units working in the affected areas.

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We left the municipal council after a very positive meeting. It was truly satisfying to see the results of the sacrifice made by each police unit in these areas.