Illapel, Chile and León, Mexico unveil new municipal security districts

The municipality of Illapel in Chile opened a new Dirección de Seguridad Pública, converting a long‑abandoned building into a central monitoring hub. The renovation, funded with more than 60 million pesos, added surveillance cameras, the SAFE system, a drone and a permanent monitoring centre to support police and public‑prosecutor investigations. Mayor Denis Cortés highlighted the transformation, saying, “This is important because it is not just an infrastructure, but a strategy that is made available to the community and police agencies.”

In León, Mexico, Mayor Marco Bonilla presented the newly created District León of the municipal police. The district covers 115 km² and serves over 180 000 residents, employing 63 officers and 17 permanent street units. It aims to cut response times and prevent crime, especially family violence, using tactics such as 24‑hour neighbourhood patrols, aerial operations and community‑focused programs. Bonilla remarked, “We took a strategic decision: divide the territory to provide better, closer, and more effective attention.”