The Guimera Theater of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, packed into its seats, stalls and boxes by agents in blue uniforms, authorities and relatives, hosted, as every year since 2012, the celebration of the Day of the Holy Guardian Angels (October 2), patrons of the National Police. A traditional act, endearing and full of emotion. Even more so this time for the march, destined for Madrid as number 3 of the Corps at the national level, of the chief commissioner of the Canary Islands Police, Rafael Martínez López.
A very special day, inappropriate to offer concrete, cold and statistical data, which, moreover, have already been released in recent days. But, as the commissioner himself and the sub-delegate of the Government, Jesús Javier Plata Vera, outlined in their speeches, Crime and police effectiveness have increased in parallel after the pandemic in Tenerife and its province. The tourism zero favored the decrease in infractions of the law, which return to the level of 2019, but in direct relation to the success in its daily work of a National Police Corps (CNP) increasingly prepared to face the challenges posed by the new crimes of the 21st century.
In the Canary Islands, and in Tenerife, specifically, those related above all to drug trafficking and human trafficking linked to the migratory phenomenon, with a clear tendency to increase in areas such as those derived from hatred (xenophobia, racism…), cybercrime or gender violence.
The emotion is always present when those who have fallen in the act of service in these almost 200 years of history are honored (they meet in January 2024) or those who have had exemplary behavior in the last year (or two, as in some case, by the omnipresent pandemic). The added component made the degrees of emotion rise at times. Commissioner Martínez López, 43 years as a police officer, was on the verge of tears. He stated that he carries “this land – he leaves it tomorrow – and its people in his heart”. He assured that he will be “the best ambassador of the Canary Islands wherever he wants him to be.”
valued the professionalism of the police staff -24 hours a day, 365 days- at your service in these two complicated years by “pandemic, fires, haze, volcano…”. Martínez López praised the role of families, thanked the hundred retirees for their work this year, highlighted the collaboration with other police forces and addressed the agents with a phrase: “Be good professionals, but, above all, good people” . Plata Vera influenced the incorporation of women, who already account for 16%, and the intention is that in the medium term they will reach 40% of the total.
fifty decorations
Together with Martínez and Plata, the chief regional chief commissioner for Operations, Sagrario de León Cruz, and the chief provincial chief commissioner, Luis Felipe San Martín Fernández-Marcote, were at the presidential table and awarded the distinctions. He also addressed the auditorium to gloss over the work carried out during the year and the successes achieved in the areas of judicial police, security and public order. They were accompanied in the task by the mayor of Santa Cruz, José Manuel Bermúdez; the second vice president of the Cabildo, Berta Pérez, and the Colonel Chief of the Civil Guard Command, José María Tienda.
Were 50 Police Merit Crosses in different categories and seven plaques of recognition to various organizations, from toilets to security companies or interpreters who act in the arrival of immigrants. It is worth highlighting the standing ovation for Camilo Contreras, a deputy inspector who fell from a roof while on duty and has not yet recovered from the aftermath.
The Municipal Music Band of Santa Cruz performed works by Puccini and Volodin to liven up the day, in addition to three melodies that awakened the senses of locals and strangers. On the one hand, the national anthem and that of the National Police (Iron Tesón); on the other, above all, the one that has become essential and impressive during the tribute to the fallen Spaniards, the work of the Basque priest Cesáreo Gabara, Death is not the end. His chords preceded the placement of a wreath in a corner of the stage. There was no shortage of cheers for Spain, the King and the National Police itself.
The prologue to this intense day was the mass celebrated earlier in the main church of La Concepción. It had its epilogue later in a toast with Spanish wine in the surroundings of the Museum of Nature and Archeology (MUNA).
Act of order, strict protocol, solemnity and an inevitable martial air between medals on the chest and flags. But nothing could prevent the spontaneity of the girl who shouted “mommy” from the audience when she collected her prize, and sentenced at the end, in the midst of silence, with an eloquent and significant: “It’s over.”
