The delegate prosecutor for the Environment and Tourism of Las Palmas, Javier Ródenas, regrets "the total passivity" of the city councils of this province in prosecuting urban planning crimes. According to him, the legislation is clear in this regard: there are prevention measures, but "the administrations do not apply them" because they do not monitor the licenses they grant.
This and other problems will be the main topics of the 1st Environmental Crime Conference of the Canary Islands, which will be held on January 21 and 22 in the capital of Gran Canaria, and in which prominent speakers from all over Spain will participate, under the coordination of Ródenas himself.
The prosecutor, who received 70 complaints in 2009, 60 percent of which were related to illegal constructions, revealed during the presentation of the conference held this Thursday in the capital of Gran Canaria, that none was presented by a City Council. This is an example of "the loneliness" that the Prosecutor's Office feels when investigating and acting against crimes committed against the territory.
In this regard, Ródenas was very clear and acknowledged that he only has his own resources, which he considers adequate, the Agency for the Protection of the Urban and Natural Environment as well as the Seprona unit, belonging to the Civil Guard. For the rest, and until now, he has not received an offer of collaboration from any administration.
An "opportunity"
The presentation of the conference was attended by jurists of the stature of Javier García García-Satoca, dean of the Courts of Las Palmas, the senior prosecutor of the Canary Islands, Vicente Garrido, and the dean of the Bar Association, Joaquín Espinosa, and all agreed that the organization of the aforementioned conference is a great opportunity to analyze what is happening in this area of criminal law, and try to find a solution to a situation that "is daily in the media".
Garrido referred to the fact that in urban planning and environmental law there are many regulations that affect different areas, and that sometimes "make the jurist's action very complex and difficult." However, everyone warned that the only objective of the Prosecutor's Office is to act in accordance with the law against those crimes that are reported.
ACN Press
