Deputy Chief of Mission of the U.S. Embassy in San Salvador, Mark Johnson; Vice President of the Republic of El Salvador Oscar Ortiz; Director General of National Civilian Police (PNC), Howard Augusto Cotto; Justice and Security Minister, Mauricio Ramírez Landaverde; Legislative Assembly President of the Commission of Public Security, José Antonio Almendáriz stood together to inaugurate the Police Operational Control and Command Center (COP) on March 30, 2017.
The U.S. Government, through the Department of State Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL), donated more than $300,000 for the creation of this new center. The COP will support technical development and provide greater access to information for the Salvadoran police force. With this center, the PNC will have a tool with which they can analyze information, track plans and police operations, and obtain and analyze information in real time. The COP also features a video conferencing technology to help Director Cotto stay in constant communications with police headquarters across the country.
Minister Counselor Mark Johnson said in his remarks, “One of the most important tools a police officer can have is information. The COP is designed to create opportunities, monitor situations and direct the activities necessary to control situations, as well as to prevent tragedies. It represents the commitment between our two countries to increase the professionalism of the PNC and improve citizen security in El Salvador,” he added.
Vice President Oscar Ortiz thanked the Government of the United States for the funding provided. “I want to reaffirm that our relations with the U.S. Government are strong, solid, on the right track,” he said.
