The Unified Association of Civil Guards has warned this Friday that only one couple of agents must ensure the safety of more than half of the island of Lanzarote. Specifically, the couple has to perform their duties in the municipalities of Haría, San Bartolomé, Teguise and Tinajo.
This was stated by the general secretary of this association in the province of Las Palmas, Juan Couce, in an informative breakfast that was held in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and which was also attended by his counterpart in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Juan Fernández, and the national communication secretary of the group, Juan Antonio Delgado.
In this meeting, Couce pointed out that the territorial regrouping of the barracks, an old demand of this group, could also be "the way to solve the situation that Lanzarote is experiencing", with this single couple to cover four municipalities.
Couce insisted on the need for the Government to carry out an effective territorial distribution of the Civil Guard, "which is the real problem of the institution". For this, according to him, it is "necessary" to eliminate barracks that "are not operational" such as those of Tejeda or Teror in Gran Canaria, which "with their six and twelve agents, respectively, cannot provide a complete citizen security service." It would also be necessary to eliminate, according to him, the Agaete barracks, since "it is just five minutes away, with the new highway, from Santa María de Guía, which is larger.
The spokespersons of this association have emphasized the absence of a public job contest to enter the security forces "for two years." "This has revealed endemic problems suffered by the Civil Guard, which insists on maintaining a distribution anchored in the years of banditry," they said in a statement.
Criticism of the "artificial unit" to stop robberies in the countryside
In addition, the association has also criticized the "Roca" team, launched to ensure security in the countryside. The Canary Islands has two units, one in La Orotava (Tenerife) and another in Santa María de Guía (Gran Canaria). For the group, these units are "artificial."
And it is that the eight agents that make up this service in the Islands "have gone from providing their work in citizen security units to dedicating themselves to preventing theft in agricultural facilities, leaving them with insufficient personnel." "One saint is undressed to dress another," denounced the Unified Association of Civil Guards.
They reject the Citizen Security Law
Another issue that was addressed this Friday at the informative breakfast is the preliminary draft of the Citizen Security Law, which this association is against. In this sense, it considers that it is "a setback for the rights of citizens", in addition to the fact that the law has been drafted "unilaterally" by the Government and its intention is to "tie and limit the right of demonstration of citizens."