public safety

Police add units for Carnaval

There will be hundreds of additional officers on duty throughout the festivities.

Policía Nacional Director Rolando Mirones said that criminals who want to take advantage of the party atmosphere of Carnaval had better think twice.

That's because hundreds of additional police officers will be on duty for the event, which kicks of this weekend and continues through Wednesday morning.

"We will have 10 percent more officers on duty than usual," Mirones said. "We will not have any free units."

In Los Santos, which has perhaps the rowdiest Carnaval celebration of anywhere in the country, the number of police officers will be more than doubled, from 215 to 500.

There will also be 100 additional road patrols looking for drunk drivers. Offenders could risk having their cars confiscated.

Police will also be erecting additional surveillance cameras in areas where the majority of the festivities will take place.

Police will be adding 11 cameras in Panama City, where it already has 234 such units, and 50 other cameras throughout the remaining Carnaval hotspots. These cameras will be used to investigate complaints.