SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE 6 Nov. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The President of the Canary Islands, Fernando Clavijo, presided over the graduation ceremony for 135 newly qualified police officers who will be joining the security forces across 23 municipalities in the Canaries, “a cohort more prepared and trained than ever before in the Canary Islands to address a complex and demanding environment.”
Fernando Clavijo emphasised the pride they should feel in donning that shield adorned with the flag, as it “embodies the values of an entire community,” and expressed his confidence that the residents of the Canary Islands, along with tourists visiting the archipelago, will feel secure and reassured upon seeing the uniform, finding the assistance they require.
Meanwhile, the Minister of the Presidency, Public Administrations, Justice and Security, Nieves Lady Barreto, expressed her gratitude to the new officers for their choice of profession.
“As local police, they are the first point of contact, the community police, the most accessible and those who will engage most with citizens; they are an essential reinforcement for the protection of the municipalities they will serve and a guarantee for the maintenance of social harmony,” she stated.
Nieves Lady Barreto particularly acknowledged the 31 new female officers, making up 23% of the cohort graduating today.
“Their decision not only progresses equality but also sets an example for many young girls and women in the Canaries, serving as role models. There remains work ahead to achieve that 40% representation which addresses the imbalance in equality, but the journey has commenced and it is irreversible,” she noted.
The minister affirmed that policing should never be viewed as a frivolous expense but rather as an investment.
“Investing in security is investing in the fundamental pillar that underpins the rule of law,” she remarked, while thanking the mayors for the confidence they have placed in her department, regarding both the training of local police forces and the coordinated management of recruitment processes, in conjunction with Fecam.
In this context, she stated that the Canarian Police includes both the Local Police and the Regional Police.
“Together we are and will continue to be stronger, for all of us are necessary, and each, within their area of authority, can contribute to enriching the Canarian public security system, always in collaboration and close coordination with the Civil Guard and the National Police,” she highlighted.
Furthermore, Nieves Lady Barreto reminded attendees that the Government of the Canary Islands is dedicated to fully realising the powers granted by the Statute of Autonomy, hence in 2025, the General Corps of the Canary Islands Police will consist of over 400 officers, thus doubling the number that was in place when we began in July of last year with only 192 personnel.
STRATEGIC ISSUE
“Increasing the number of local and regional police is a strategic priority for this Government, a directive established by our president, which we wholeheartedly endorse alongside all the municipalities in the Canaries,” she asserted.
Within this expansive context, she reminded everyone that the Government of the Canary Islands had ratified this Monday the largest OPE for the Canarian Police.
The El Sauzal Theatre hosted the graduation of the ‘II Canarian Police Training Course’, delivered by the General Directorate of Studies and Training in Public Security of the Canary Islands Government.
For five months, the officers have undergone 1,100 hours of theoretical and practical education, enhancing their specific skills in traffic and road safety, emergency response, administrative policing, judicial police work, community policing, communication and citizen relations, operational police interventions, generic skills, and specific modules.
Among the attendees were the mayor of El Sauzal, Mariano Pérez, alongside the directors of Security, David del Pino, and of Studies and Training in Public Security, José Manuel González Afonso, as well as municipal representatives, civil authority figures, and other security forces.
