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The 21 temporary officers on the Local Police force of Palma, who will be out of a job in January, staged a demo at the city council's plenary session, to protest at the decision not to renew their contracts. They carried banners with messages such as “Are there really too many police officers? and “Do we create security?”, referring to criticism from the opposition who have often said that there are too few policemen. A spokesman for the officers told the media that they wanted the council to maintain their contracts indefinitely, until exams for the police force are called. A proposal by the socialists in opposition, calling on the council to cover the 39 places which will remain vacant when the temporary officers leave and the gap left by 18 retiring officers was withdrawn, because deputy mayor José Manuel Sierra said that this point was currently being negotiated with the unions. Sierra rejected criticism from socialist spokesman Toni Roig, who said that the police force was so undermanned that calls to 092 were often not answered quickly, or some services were not covered. “You would only be happy if we had 2'000 officers, and that's impossible,” Sierra said.