Operation Summer will see an increase in security

PALMA
THE central government has approved Operation Summer 2007, with specific measures on traffic and road safety, which will be effective in the Balearics from July 1 to September 30.

The Operation will also see an increased police presence at the main tourism airports.
Similar operations were held in 2005 and 2006.
The measures are designed to cover the specific risks of the summer as a result of the high temperatures, with emphasis on health, road safety and security.

Masterminded by the ministry of the interior, traffic measures will be concentrated at the beginning and end of each month, when people are either starting or ending their holidays, security in tourist resorts and vigilance and controls on the roads (speeding and breathalyser tests).

It is not just the Balearics which will benefit. The Operation will also be put into force in Andalucia, Asturias, the Canary Islands, Cantabria, Catalonia, Valencia, Galicia, Madrid, Murcia, Ceuta and Melilla. However, it will be in force only until August 31.

The Balearics is the only region where the Operation will be in force until the end of September.
The number of police will be increased and the work of special units will be co-ordinated with that of the Local Police forces.
The security and information services at ports and airports will be intensified and there will be information campaigns to make access to these services easier, especially at tourist airports.

There will also be awareness campaigns on the effects of the heat and the dangers of sunstroke, coupled with weather alerts when exceptionally high temperatures are expected.

Special attention will be paid to the elderly and the very young, the two groups most at risk in hot weather.
In announcing the Operation, deputy prime minister Maria Teresa Fernandez said “we hope that it will prove efficient and in the autumn we can look back on a healthy, safe and forest-fire free summer.” She added that the government was doing everying in its power that it should be so.