The door of the Las Torres de Cotillas Local Police station opened and a person came out. «Hey, look. Yes, there is someone inside, it is not closed,” said the journalist. «No, what's going on. “It's the Security Councilor, who must have gone to mop the corridors of the barracks,” responded jokingly the customer of a bar located in front of the building that houses the police offices in the Local Security Center, located on the avenue Oltra Moltó.
The joke contains a very serious and worrying problem. For almost a week, the municipality of 22,000 inhabitants has not had Local Police officers on the streets. Although the problems between the City Council and the local police arose several weeks ago, it was last Friday, at the beginning of Holy Week, when the most critical situation arrived with 33 of the 34 officers (98% of the staff) on sick leave. medical.
Since then, some processions have had to be suspended, such as the parade that same Friday in the district of Los Pulpites. This week there have been numerous cases of traffic violations, from poorly parked cars to drivers who do not respect the signs. «A friend had a car parked in front of his ford and he had to take his wife to the hospital. He called the Local Police to report it, but no one picked up the phone. Right now, you can drive without a seat belt, talking with your cell phone in one hand, drunk and run a stop sign, and nothing will happen to you. “People know that there are no municipal police officers who can fine you and they don't respect anything.”
This is just an example that a neighbor comments on among a group of customers at a bar in the municipality. The people who were consulted by LA VERDAD, to find out the climate that is being experienced in the town, did not want to give their names for fear of reprisals, “both by the City Council and by the local police themselves, because here we all know each other.” , warned one of those gathered in the establishment. Speaking among themselves, they assured that the people are divided between those who understand the demands of the local police and those who consider that the measure they have adopted is not proportionate.
«Last Monday night there were car races, with spinning tops included, around the sports center and the industrial estate. The town right now is the closest thing to a lawless city and those affected in the end are the citizens,” says one of the commentators. «Yes, but this comes from afar and the Security Councilor has done nothing to prevent it. On the contrary, he has added fuel to the fire with threats,” replies his partner.
A woman passes in front of the barracks, which remains closed.
Nacho García / AGM
The absence of local police on the streets not only affects traffic issues. A few days ago, an underground container caught fire and a Civil Guard patrol was the one that covered the incident, cutting off the street and making way for the cleaning services to open the waste pit and for the firefighters to put out the fire. . «That is not the responsibility of the Benemérita; “They are there for other things,” says one of the restaurant's diners.
Damage to the image of the municipality
In a butcher shop on Oltra Moltó Avenue, customers commented that a lot of damage is being done to the image of the municipality, and to the Torreños themselves, and they criticized the “suspicious” generalized medical leave among the agents.
“No one believes that they have all gotten sick at the same time,” says one woman. Several clients focused on the general insecurity that is palpable in the streets, and the feeling of helplessness both in the face of possible robberies and in matters related to fights and drug dealing. «Now there are several days when people don't work and go out at night. As long as the weather is good and it doesn't rain at night, a big crowd could form in the area where young people are drinking, next to the cemetery, and I hope it doesn't get mixed up in some bar and a disaster happens, because a lot of people will have to explain themselves.” says one of the neighbors.
«We have no security at all with all the thefts that occur here in the market, in the houses, in the stores. The thieves are going to put on their boots, just as the 'camels' of Las Parcelas will be doing, who will be 'in abundance' and will see the open sky these days without agents to put controls at the entrance and exit to the neighborhood,” he points out. another customer in the store.
A toxic environment that “has taken its toll on the workforce”
The towers of Cotillas. Bad work environment, toxic environment, restriction of rights, disciplinary proceedings, forced decrees, repeated non-compliance with court rulings, lack of material resources… It is the feeling that the Local Police staff describes “that it is making a dent, which has caused 95% of medical sick leave; “And if we add to that the vacancies due to unrefilled retirements in recent years, they give rise to the current situation, where there are no agents on duty and the barracks have to be closed.”
The police argue that for eight years there have been nine vacancies in the Las Torres de Cotillas staff, with a deficit of 25% of the staff. Likewise, the agents demand compliance with certain salary concepts, including the improvement of the List of Job Positions (RPT), which dates back to 2009, “which represents a great economic loss compared to other municipalities where these are recognized. concepts.
In the extraordinary plenary session held yesterday at the Las Torres de Cotillas Town Hall, the problem of mass casualties of local police officers was addressed. Although it was not on the agenda, the PSOE put an emergency motion on the table (which was rejected), demanding a solution to the “conflict” and criticizing the accusations that the Security Councilor, Pablo Alberto Ruiz, launched the day before slipping that the crisis in the barracks had been caused by the UGT and the PSOE. “It seems like real nonsense to me that they try to blame the PSOE for what is happening,” said the municipal spokesperson, Francisco Jesús López Manzanera.
From the PSOE they demanded that they stop throwing “balls out and blaming others.” The only people responsible for what is happening are the members of the PP and Vox government team, who have caused a serious problem for the people of Torreños. Act and reach agreements,” López Manzanera claimed.
UGT complaint
The Security councilor stressed that the problem in the police force originated more than ten years ago. «Since 2009, the Local Police has been demanding that the List of Jobs be modified. Since then not a single point has been touched, nor an improvement. “We are open to negotiation,” said Ruiz. He explained that after many meetings there was an agreement signed with UGT on March 20 in which a 75% improvement in freely available overtime hours was achieved. «And the next day, they said it was insufficient. “We don't understand it.”
UGT announced yesterday that it will report “a possible crime of usurpation of functions of the police force and administrative prevarication” in the City Council for the hiring of private agents for Holy Week to alleviate the lack of agents.
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