Regional Police Force in the pipeline

This, in principle, is the first option which is being discussed for the formation of the Regional Police Force, although the Balearic Minister for the Interior, Jose Maria Rodriguez, said that no decision will be taken on the formation of this force until after the elections.

At the moment the Minister for the Interior is preparing the alternatives which could possibly be used to form the Regional Police Force mentioned in the new Statute.

Article 19 of the new Statute's text, which came into force at the beginning of this month, mentions the creation of a Regional Police Force, although it does not go as far as defining its powers.

Be that as it may, the Balearic and Spanish Governments need to agree the powers which this new police force will have, a matter which is not covered in the new Statute.

A few months ago Rodríguez, made it clear that the Regional Police Force which will be formed in the Balearics will not be like the regional police forces which are in operation in Catalonia and the Basque Country, where they conduct investigations, and are responsible for public order and traffic control.

Rodriguez announced that, after the approval of the new Statute and its coming into force, a study outlining how the future regional police force would function was being worked on and would be presented soon. “It could take five years because it is a long term project”, said Rodriguez.
The Balearic Government thinks that, in the future, the Regional Police Force will exist side by side in the Balearics with the National Police Force and the Guardia Civil.

If this Balearic Government project goes ahead, although it is still in its infancy and awaiting the production of various studies, the current Local Police Forces will disappear completely. The creation of a Regional Police Force, drawing its officers from the various local police forces on the islands will mean a great amount of cooperation between towns.

This would be, in principle, the inspirational philosophy behind the creation of the new force.
In any case, the final decision will be made after the elections by whoever is governing after May 27.
The creation of this police force was one of the matters which had the immediate approval of the various political groups which agreed the new Statute.

While other matters were subject to a lot of negotiation, the inclusion of the new regional police force did not come up against any opposition amongst the various Parliamentary groups.