The PSOE of San Miguel de Abona, located in the south of Tenerife, has raised concerns this week about the “serious deficiency” of personnel in the local police within the municipality, citing the failure to equip that force in line with the gradual population increase. According to the PSOE, this issue is a situation that the Canarian Coalition has permitted to worsen over the years and is now attempting to resolve with an ineffective measure: employing private security rather than filling existing vacancies. Notably, the population has increased by 114% in the past two decades.
Currently, San Miguel de Abona has 23,300 registered residents. This figure indicates that, per European guidelines and current legislation, the municipality ought to have at least 50 local police officers. Presently, however, only 10 officers are actively serving, which the socialists describe as a “wholly inadequate” number to ensure the safety of residents.
“For over four years, there have been six vacancies within the Local Police that the scant representatives of the Canary Coalition have failed to address. It was only on March 12, 2025, following pressure from the community, that the City Council initiated a service commission for three positions. However, the other three vacancies that are essential for local policing have still not been advertised, highlighting the irresponsibility of the Canary Coalition,” the socialist spokesperson, José Carlos Rodríguez Rodríguez, stated.
The solution proposed by the Canary Coalition in San Miguel de Abona is viewed as an “authentic sham” by the PSOE. They argue that rather than strengthening the local police force by adding more personnel, public funds are being squandered on hiring private security that lacks the authority to patrol streets, make arrests, process crowds, or respond in emergencies.
Consequently, what is transpiring is deemed a “nonsense,” the PSOE asserts, emphasising that private security can only “observe” municipal properties, “but they cannot perform any actual duties that are genuinely required in our municipality. Instead of supplementing the local police with the needed personnel, they are misallocating funds to a strategy that resolves nothing,” Rodríguez Rodríguez lamented.
Canary Coalition “still does not accept its duties”
The PSOE contends that the Canary Coalition’s excuse is that restrictions imposed by the central government limit their capacity to recruit new staff, but this is untrue, according to José Carlos Rodríguez Rodríguez, who explains that “since January 2024, the public employment offer for San Miguel de Abona has been published for three police officer positions.” He further notes that “they have not even bothered to call a negotiating table to establish the criteria for this recruitment, which does not depend on the central government; it falls under the jurisdiction of the City Council.”
Rodríguez points out that “it is evident that the governing group does not regard the security of the municipality and its citizens as either vital or a priority. Approximately three years ago, we had 14 police officers, and now we are down to 10.”
This “sustained neglect” by the Canary Coalition substantiates what the PSOE has been asserting for years: “The governing group lacks a genuine plan for the municipality’s security and continues to make ad hoc decisions that do not address the fundamental issues.”
They insist that “one cannot play with the security of the citizens. While residents report daily incidents of theft, vandalism, and assaults, the Canary Coalition responds with a futile measure. If they genuinely wished to enhance security, they would fill all the local police positions that have remained vacant for years. Instead, they have opted for a superficial solution that serves no purpose,” Rodriguez concluded.
The PSOE of San Miguel de Abona reiterated their commitment to “true security, with more law enforcement on the streets and effective long-term planning.”
