Policia Nacional get a new hymn

A new spirit lifting hymn has been approved for the nacionales to replace their current 1948 one. Well, not quite .- they’ve got the words, but no music yet. Other way round from the national anthem then. 420 people put forwards suggestions, and “baritone composer” José Manuel Conde won. It’s called tesón de hierro, which roughly translates as “tenacity of iron”. Something nice for them to sing as they march into battle against los indignados. Continue reading Policia Nacional get a new hymn

Coppers told off for displaying their six-packs

There’s a bit of a fuss amongst the National Police after complaints that fitter members of the corps have been asking for smaller sized summer uniforms to show off their six packs. They’re taking advantadge of the stretchy elastic uniforms to strut around, winking at the ladies, whilst flexing. Anyway, the head copper of Castilly y León region has warned his men he won’t stand for this and everyone is to wear their correct size. Continue reading Coppers told off for displaying their six-packs

No bog roll for coppers as budget cuts bite

The National Police have admitted that due to budget cutbacks they can´t afford to supply toilet papers to their police stations. In 2011, they bought 1,2 million rolls of toilet paper. In 2012, just 500,000. This year, they tendered a contract for 960,000 rolls, but never got round to signing it as they didn´t have the cash to pay for it. Meaning that the unions are complaining that stations are having to setup toilet paper Continue reading No bog roll for coppers as budget cuts bite

No you can’t denounce over the phone anymore – the outsourcing company went bust

Egg on the face of the National Police after the company that manages its denuncia hotline went bust overnight, leaving citizens calling the official hotline and not having their calls answered. The hotline, which has been run for a number of years now by a telemarketing company, allows you to make simple denuncias over the phone (for anything you need a basic police crime number for insurance purposes, but didn’t really expect the police to Continue reading No you can’t denounce over the phone anymore – the outsourcing company went bust

Learn English to be a national policeman!

An online ad for help in passing your national police exams got me thinking, after I noticed that the ad offered a free English exam to help you pass. Surely you don’t need to know English to be a policeman in Spain, do you? So I looked up the requirements this year (here) and, much to my surprise, the exams include a voluntary English or French test. If you pass (it’s said to be equivalent Continue reading Learn English to be a national policeman!

Crime continues to fall across region

The latest crime data released by the Jefatura Superior de Policía de Andalucía Oriental suggests that despite the recession, crime across Eastern Andalucia (Jaén, Málaga, Almería, Granada) continues to drop, with 14.06% fewer crimes being committed so far this year over 2009. The two types of crime with the biggest drops are bag snatching (a 31% drop) and vehicle theft (22% drop). Better police training, with better cooperation between forces, and better backup from the Continue reading Crime continues to fall across region

Local Police strike – refuse to issue fines

The Local Police of several capitals – including Seville and Granada- are on strike over proposed pay cuts. However, instead of actually striking, they are refusing to issue standard traffic fines, except in severe cases. Instead, they are issuing warnings, or using outdated fine books which have not been withdrawn by the townhalls (which allows the fined motorists to recurr the fine). The protest has been called the “semana sin multa”, or Semana 0.0 by Continue reading Local Police strike – refuse to issue fines

National Police inspector jailed for blackmail “will not be dismissed”

E.M.A., the Policia Nacional Inspector who has just been jailed for 10 months for blackmailing a woman who was supposedly under his protection (she had been assigned a police direct liasion officer while giving evidence against an abusive partner) will not be dismissed from the force, the Andalucia head of the National Police confirmed. He had extorted several quantities of money from the woman under his protection, threatening that otherwise the case “would go against Continue reading National Police inspector jailed for blackmail “will not be dismissed”