Police unions believe that a decrease over recent years in the number of local police and Guardia Civil officers is very worrying for public security. As examples, they point to the fact that during certain shifts there are just two patrol cars for the whole of Palma, while the situation at the airport is alarming. There are days when there are no patrols.
A few days ago, Miguel Ángel Heredia, a PSOE member of Congress from Andalusia, made public information he had requested from the interior ministry regarding the number of Guardia Civil and National Police officers in the country's regions. In the case of the Balearics, there was a reduction of 245 between 2011 and 2017. The number of National Police officers went down from 1,645 to 1,503 (54 of these in 2017 were trainees) and Guardia Civil officers from 2,040 to 1,937.
According to the interior ministry's own requirements, there should be 1,776 National Police officers in the Balearics, but even the actual numbers quoted by the ministry are being questioned. Police unions say that the ministry is masking the situation; there are only around 1,400 National Police officers actively deployed.
The national government delegation in the Balearics points out that the ministry is currently engaged in negotiating an increase in the number of police and also adjustments to salaries. Some of the new National Police and Guardia Civil officers will be assigned to the Balearics. The interior ministry, for its part, has said that reductions were the consequence of economic crisis.
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Security is the one of the most important things and should not be cut,both residents and tourists need to feel safe and to see police officers on the streets.