"British police officers should have a permanent presence in Spain..."

It now looks as if every area in Spain wants British police officers patrolling their streets. The ground-breaking scheme was launched in Magalluf earlier this month and involved two officers from the West Midlands force who then moved to San Antonio in Ibiza. Now, the services of the British police are also wanted in Benidorm and other tourist destinations on the mainland. With an estimated 20 million British tourists visiting Spain every year, it does make sense for British police to be involved in the fight against crime in Spain. But certain sections of the British media believe that the whole operation is a waste of tax-payer´s money. This is far from the case. British police officers on patrol in Magalluf were exceptionally well received by local residents. And quite rightly so. I believe that British police officers should have a presence in all the major Spanish holiday resorts during the summer season. It helps increase co-operation between them and their Spanish counterparts and also helps with the war on crime. Surely, it is all part of the European process? Last summer police officers from France, Italy and Germany joined the ground-breaking scheme in the Balearics, which was championed by the local authorities. And this year they were joined by the British colleagues. I sincerely hope that British police officers return to the island next year but stay for most of the season. It may be just a few officers but at the end of the day they are worth their weight in gold.