The unions representing the Local Police of Santa Cruz (UGT, CCOO, IC, CSIF, Public and Asipal Services) have delivered a letter to the mayor, José Manuel Bermúdez, demanding that he “rectify” his comments regarding the security authority of local officers, made during last Friday’s debate on the state of the municipality.
The unions assert that Bermúdez, as the head of the Local Police, “has undermined and discredited the principle of authority, along with the name and image of the body, by stating that we are collaborators of the National Police and the Civil Guard, which does not reflect the reality and legality in effect.”
During the debate, the mayor remarked that “the powers of the Local Police are what they are and, concerning public security, they are those of collaborators with the State Security Forces and Bodies,” in response to the opposition’s accusations regarding the pressing need for more local police, one of Bermúdez’s key promises.
The spokesperson for the PSOE, Patricia Hernández, stated that “the police force is insufficient. There were 372 officers in 2011 and currently there are 372, including the 37 in training. We required a robust force then and we urgently need one now.”
Following the mayor’s comments, the unions contend that “these remarks negatively impact the working conditions of police officers, shifting the responsibility for security improvements or declines to state bodies and relegating local agents to a mere auxiliary role.”
