In Palma an extra 41 officers are needed.

In Palma an extra 41 officers are needed. | Alejandro Sepúlveda

Majorca Daily Bulletin reporterPalma03/05/2017 00:00
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Felib, the federation that represents town halls in the Balearics, has studied policing needs in the different municipalities and has concluded that over 380 more police officers are needed.

Specifically, town halls in Majorca need 300 more, in Ibiza the requirement is 50, in Minorca 30 and Formentera three. Palma is short by 41 officers, Ibiza Town by 40, Manacor 34 and Sant Llorenç 22. These are the four municipalities with the greatest needs. Only four town halls are said to have sufficient numbers: Deya, Lloret and Marratxi in Majorca and Sant Lluis in Ibiza.

The president of Felib, Joan Carles Verd, says that the lack of police is a general problem for all Balearic municipalities, noting that the federation's figures do not take into account the need for additional police in the summer. He accepts that the regional government has begun to address the situation but observes that any solution will not be achieved in the short term. The coming summer, he adds, will create difficulties.

Verd explains that there is a great deal of demand for extra police but very little supply and that recruitment is highly constrained by the "Montoro Law" on budgetary and financial stability. As a consequence, local police forces end up assuming powers which aren't really theirs. That's because of the lack of officers in the state forces - the National Police and the Guardia Civil.