Arona puts 12 plain-clothes police on the streets to curb “antisocial behaviour”

[Janet]

Arona Ayuntamiento is putting a dozen plain-clothes Policía Local officers on the street to ensure that the public obeys local bylaws. The agents will control street vendors, PRs, littering and rubbish dumping, illegal taxis, thefts, animal ownership infractions, and other "antisocial behaviour". The council says that it has authority to do this from the Canarian Government in order to deal with ongoing petty offences.

Concejal de Seguridad Ciudadana, Manuel Reverón, told the EL DÍA paper that the patrols will start to operate on 1 December, and that one area for concern was people who disposed of rubbish outside of permitted hours: as I posted HERE, in Arona, rubbish hours are from 8pm to midnight, and rubbish must be taken out in closed bags. Sr Reverón said that people who put rubbish out in the mornings, or in open bags, created a deplorable smell and risk of infection, as well as causing harm to the municipality's image.

With regard to animal ownership, the plain-clothes police will be checking that dogs defined as potentially dangerous are muzzled and on leads, and that owners have the registration paperwork and necessary insurance. They will also be on the lookout for owners of all dogs who allow them to foul public areas without cleaning up after them.

As far as street vendors and PRs are concerned, Sr Reverón indicated that the officers were under instruction to control them so as to allow the public free movement through the streets of the municipality's tourist areas. They have been instructed too, to be alert for any private pick ups or drop offs at tourist complexes where taxi business might be thought to be suffering. As a general instruction they will be watching for pickpockets who stake out areas, and for any indications of drug deals, apparently regularly conducted in public spaces. JA

[El Profesor]

There is nothing new about plain clothes police on the streets. There have been plain clothes National Police, since the 80's that I know of. They usually patrol places like the Veronicas. As the criminals get to know them they bring others from other areas of Spain . . . and they are really good at the fancy dress. Been going on for at least 25 years.

The point here is that the "policia local" are not really police as we understand the term.
They are local council administrators.
They are usually the local lads that aren't bright enough to pass the exams to be proper serious police.

Think of a mixture of traffic warden and lollypop lady . . . . then give it a gun. Then tell it that it's a policeman. Then give it a secret mission catching La Señora Pepita taking her rubbish out in the morning.

Advice - don't answer it back. A very highly strung balance of inflated self importance, weighed down by massive chip bearing shoulders and provincial stupidity can be very volatile.

[Perikles]

I wonder how many people would recognize a genuine police ID document - I have no idea what it looks like. Anybody could pretend to be one - all you'd need is an attitude, an impenetrable accent and a dodgy ID card. They could earn a fortune. 

What is " 'ello 'ello, wot's going on 'ere?" in Canarian?

[Janet]

Advice - don't answer it back. A very highly strung balance of inflated self importance, weighed down by massive chip bearing shoulders and provincial stupidity can be very volatile.

Absolutely! ... though for what it's worth, Aropol is up in arms about them being used as "judicial enforcers" for a useless administration. They feel that this is not their job, and that if Arona Ayto were any sort of decent organization, the new deployment would not be needed. They say that what is actually needed is more uniformed bods on the streets to increase resident and visitor security, and that the municipality's "!image" would be improved by sunbeds and paid lifeguards ...

Couldn't have put it better myself, really, but the Ayto has an eye to the fines that the plain-clothes boys are going to raise ...

[Janet]

A very highly strung balance of inflated self importance, weighed down by massive chip bearing shoulders and provincial stupidity can be very volatile.

Who guards the guardians?

The Policía Nacional is investigating claims that two Adeje Policia Local officers kept 30 grams of cocaine seized during a search on a couple of youths in the municipality. One of the men, descriibed as Asian, says that the cocaine was "confiscated" from a suitcase in their vehicle in the Costa Adeje on 13 November. 

The affair is said to have documentary evidence, to which the El Dia newspaper says it has had access. The story is that of an initial search in which a small quantity of drugs was discovered, then the men being followed and stopped once again by the same police car just before they joined the motorway at which point their boot was opened and the suitcase found - and confiscated at taser point. No sanction was applied at the time, nor it appears, has anything been done subsequently.

The report appears to have generated clear unease among the Police. They won't be the only ones!

JA

[Perikles]

One of the men, descriibed as Asian, says that the cocaine was "confiscated" from a suitcase in their vehicle in the Costa Adeje on 13 November.

So this genius decides to complain that he hasn't been done for possession of 30 grams of cocaine.   

[Nova]

Good on him I say    How else will the dodgy dealings of the police be exposed?

Can't remember the name of that Goldie Hawn film with the dwarf and the albino... her cop friend (whose name I can't remember either) offers her some marijuana and she says "but you're a cop!".  He says "Didn't you know, the police have all the best drugs".