Up to 20 Sanctioned Offenders a Day Perform Community Service in Playa del Carmen

Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo — Between 15 and 20 people sanctioned for administrative offenses are sent to perform community service every day at Playa del Carmen’s Animal Control, Assistance and Zoonosis Center (Cencaaz), where they clean facilities, wash cages and walk dogs as part of the penalties imposed through the city’s Civic Justice system.

Andrea Piña Valle, secretary of Civic Justice and Human Coexistence, said the work is one of the alternatives applied to people referred for administrative violations. She said the goal is for the sanction to provide a benefit to the municipality’s public spaces and services.

From Beaches to Parks and Medians

The Cencaaz is not the only site where the work takes place. Sanctioned individuals are also assigned to parks, medians and other public spaces to carry out cleaning and maintenance shifts, depending on the needs determined by city authorities.

Piña Valle noted that part of this work was previously concentrated on beaches during sargassum arrivals. As the seaweed’s presence declined, the community service shifts were moved to other parts of the city that require cleaning and attention.

Among the main reasons people are referred to Civic Justice are illegal dumping of trash, involvement in fights and drinking alcohol in public. Depending on the offense and the corresponding ruling, community service can be set as one of the measures used to complete the sanction.