Alcudia police - a strong presence on social media

The use of Facebook grew out of the urgency caused by the state of alarm and pandemic. It has since become firmly established, officer Bernat Cifre (pictured) being the current manager of the Facebook, something he does totally voluntarily.

Officer Cifre says: "We are probably so active because it is run by an officer who works on the ground, i.e. myself. If there's something urgent, it's posted immediately. If it's not urgent, I do it when I get up. When I'm not working, colleagues pass me reports."

A key reason for this activity is transparency. "I was tired of hearing that we just walk around and do nothing, when many days we don't stop. I believe that we have opened people's eyes and that we are much more transparent."

A second reason is prevention. "If we publish that every weekend we'll be carrying out alcohol and drugs controls and that there will be consequences for offenders, people will think about it more. They know how it is."

And third there is citizen collaboration and direct contact. "We have sort out many problems, for example fights, with information sent to us by private message. We obviously maintain the anonymity of these citizens who collaborate. Facebook is also very useful for answering questions. We receive and respond to many messages from the public."

The chief of police, Abelardo Mesías, and the councillor for citizen security, Juan José Sendín, are both pleased with the social media presence. Sendín says: "People are very happy. News is posted day by day and this is very important for the citizens."