CSIF denounces the lack of local police officers in Haría: a single agent for 90% of daily services

The Independent and Civil Servants Union (CSIF) expresses its "deep concern" about the "serious" shortage of staff in the Haría Local Police, a situation that is causing 90% of daily services to be covered by a single officer patrolling alone.

CSIF considers that this circumstance "demonstrates an insufficiency of human resources, totally incompatible with the adequate provision of an essential public service, such as citizen security, a situation that has been occurring since March".

The union warns that a single officer, alone, "can hardly offer an adequate response to two simultaneous incidents, such as an emergency, an accident, a conflictive intervention, or any situation requiring immediate police support." In addition to compromising the response capacity to the residents of the municipality, this way of providing the service also implies "evident concern for the safety of the local police officers who carry out their work, without the support of another colleague".

Likewise, it must be taken into account that the Police intervene in certain health-related actions, including performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) maneuvers and using defibrillators when circumstances require it. In this type of intervention, the presence of a single officer considerably limits the capacity to act, as the different tasks necessary during an emergency cannot be carried out simultaneously and with the same guarantees.

"Security cannot depend on the fact that, if the situation becomes even slightly complicated, citizens must wait for support from the Guardia Civil of Costa Teguise, located approximately twenty-five kilometers away, as such support would be conditioned by the availability of those officers, or by them not being attending to other services, as they provide coverage to different municipalities," they point out.

The union considers it especially worrying that this situation has been reached due to "a lack of planning, negotiation, and foresight of the necessary human resources". "The security needs of a municipality cannot be permanently conditioned by an insufficient staff. Therefore, CSIF demands that the Haría City Council adequately organize and size the service and adopt the necessary measures to guarantee sufficient police presence and safe working conditions for the officers," it continues.

CSIF demands that the Haría City Council and its mayor act responsibly, abandon improvisation, and adopt urgent measures to reinforce staff and guarantee adequate planning of the service. "Citizen security and the security of local police officers themselves cannot depend on the City Council not sitting down to plan and negotiate," they conclude.