According to the Almuñécar socialist party, this past bank holiday has been a disaster as far as policing coverage went.

The Vice Secretary, Josué Díaz, said they had warned the governing party about this problem with the Policía Local, but it was not acted upon and the bank holiday went as it did: unanswered calls at the police desk, or if they did get through they were told that they couldn’t do anything about it because a lack of officers.

According to the PSOE, entire shifts were without patrols on the streets of the municipality. In this regard, he directly blamed Mayor Ruiz Joya, and his cabinet for this situation.

The Vice Secretary detailed several incidents that could not be attended to due to the lack of available patrols, including burglaries in homes in the town centre and a man removing trash from a container and throwing it onto the street.

Another man was found lying on the Paseo San Cristóbal for hours; caravans were found camped in unauthorised areas, violating local bylaws; and acts of vandalism occurred on Calle Ángel Ganivet.

“We are talking about real calls, real situations, real residents who received no response because there was simply no one available to help,” he emphasised.

Consequently, the PSOE demand an urgent plan be made to reinforce and reorganise the Policía Local, with guarantees that shifts without patrols and the closure of the police station will not be repeated.

(News: Almunecar, Costa Tropical, Granada, Andalucia)

Keywords: Policia Local, Insufficient Police Coverage, Bankholiday Weekend, Calls Unanswered, No Officers Sent

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Reader’s comment: “Hmm. Must be me.!! Friday I drive to Almunecar via salobrena. Guardia Civil at roundabout on the approach to salobrena. Also at the roundabout by the disused fruit storage point, Taramay. They seem much more organised as units. Why is it they get paid less then the Polcia Local. Who seem to manage crossing points outside schools and sometimes the sea fronts ??” – PB Storey

For most of their existence the Guardia Civil came under the Ministry of Defence, not, as now, the Ministry of the Interior, along with the other police forces. The money for the salaries of the municipal or (local) police comes from the municipal budget however.

The Guardia Civil is a really a Corps hitherto belonging to the Spanish Army, who were paid naff. So, you get an overpaid, rookie, municipal-police officer who gets more than a corporal in the Guardia Civil with a few years’ service under his belt.

The Guardía Civil are one of the best police forces in Europe, probably the world, on the other hand, the Policía Local are traffic wardens armed with 9mm parabellums who call the Guardia when there is trouble, rather than fines to hand out… Martin