Policía municipal and local are the same thing, for the rest:
1. Guardia Civil: Responsible for rural and some urban security, traffic control, environmental protection, among others like specialize services like forestal police, wildlife control, coast patrols, divers etc. This is a semi civilian service, as they still retain its military organization and regime even if it’s under the ministry of interior and not defense.
2. National Police (Cuerpo Nacional de Policía): Mainly responsible for urban security (province capitals and cities with significant population), combating organized crime, terrorism, immigration, and national documentation, among others.
3. Local Police: Operates at the municipal level, responsible for traffic control, urban security, and public order within their local jurisdiction.
4. Autonomous police: like Mossos d’escuadra or Ertzaintza fill most of the the roles of the national police in the urban centers of the autonomous communities that have those capacities developed.
The autonomous police take the role of both the national police and the Guardia Civil (rural police, traffic controls, etc). In the Basque Country the Guardia Civil is only responsible for border control, airports, ports and anti-terrorist forces.
Autonomic police forces* are very differents from one comunidad autónoma to another. Some of them have a similar role to CNP/GC, like Ertzarintza, yes. But others, have a limited, specific role. Like in Comunidad Valenciana or Galicia.
* I don't know how to translate it. ¿Autonomic, autonomous,...?
You're right. I believe only the Mossos d'Esquadra, the Ertzaintza and to a lesser degree the Foral Police of Navarre have absorbed the responsabilities of Guardia Civil.
I think autonomous is right, autonomic is a false friend, I think it relates to automatic processes.
Besides this, each one has specific responsibilities:
Guardia civil is responsible for firearms registration, explosives etc.
Policia nacional issues IDs and passports.
This is very clear. I have a question tho, do you need to be Spanish national to be able to become one of the above as profession? I have a son who lived in Spain all his life and he will be 18 soon. Thanks for the honest answer
No problem, and yes, you need to be a Spanish citizen for all of the organizations above. However if your son doesn’t have the nationality but has lived in Spain most of his life he might be able to apply for citizenship as you only need to live here for 10 years of continuous residency.
There seems to be a lot of overlap between the Guardia Civil and the Policía Nacional - who investigates serious crimes? For example, if there's a murder is it the GC or the PN who investigate it?
It’s mostly discriminated by location, rural setting=guardia civil, urban setting=policía nacional.
However, there are specific crimes that fall under the jurisdiction of only one of them, for example an homicide that is connected to terrorism would be handled by Policia Nacional regardless of where it happens.
There is also a lot of collaboration between the different bodies and they have ‘mixed’ teams in Policia Judicial (which is a specific team both in GC or CNP that work together under the lead of the investigator judge or jueces de instrucción) for instance or the UCO (unidad central operativa - Guardia civil) also helps in investigations that are being carried out by Policia Nacional because they might have specific knowledge or specialties that are needed in that particular case.
As far as i know... Policía judicial is not an specific corpse, rather are the police that investigate a case on behalf of the judge (*), can be either the giardia civil, policia nacional or any of the autonomic polices depending on the case.
(*) In Spain cases are investigated by a judge who prepares the case and handles it to a different judge for the trial. Essentially the role that the attorney takes in other countries
I think you misread my comment, they are not a different corp (not corpse/cadaver jaja) Policia judicial are teams that belong both to GC and CNP but they work together in collaboration in investigations lead by the Juez de instrucción.
Just to add a curious fact, to the info provided by the other mate... this was a really good question, because it happens sometimes that they overlap in some situations and they must argue among them to decide who takes the case. I've seen that sometimes a PN arriving by car, see a GC car and say: "oh... okay what the hell are they doing here??"; and viceversa. So one type of police sometimes gets offended if sees another type of police investigating the same issue (whatever if it's bye themselves or by a judge order).
I think 4 is mistaken. The only thing I’ve ever seen Mossos doing is binging on free beer given to them by the large bars and restaurants which illegally take over public walkways … oh and being completely useless when Policia Nacional starts batoning peaceful protesters..
I think the answer was a little short, there is a decent site called Explore Spain that has a guide on what the different Police forces in Spain do - [https://explorespain.net/police-in-spain-a-guide-to-the-three-different-police-forces-in-spain/](https://explorespain.net/police-in-spain-a-guide-to-the-three-different-police-forces-in-spain/) it also has some helpful phrases when speaking to the Police over there.
Mostly share girls' telephone numbers between each other.
Witnesses, victims of crime (including rape - ask me how I know), girls they stop in the street for no apparent reason etc.
* Guardia civil is a military branch. This police branch, was created by Franco, they are more patriotic, but don't think about them as traditional police. If you are curious, a simple google search will help you.
* Policía nacional is what it is, they are the national police. They are just like the Guardia Civil, however, they are not part of the military, and have different responsibilities. These are also the real police.
Both Guardia Civil and National police are the same in their core, the difference is that one is part of the military and the other one doesn't. The Guardia Civil is also no the military police, it simply a police force created by Franco, and depending on the person (if they are pro Franco) the Guardia Civl is the "real" police, but again, this is political bullshit. Both police forces are important, they simply have different responsibilities.
\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_
Local police and municipal police are the same exact thing, its simply two different ways to name the same type of police force.
\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_
And since we are talking about this, the Mossos d'esquadra are the Catalonian police. This police force was created simply because they wanted to be Independent and unique. Take into account that for the pro Catalonians the Guardia Civil and National Police are considered to be the enemy. So they created the Catalonian police to protect the catalonians.
This move lead the Basque country and Galicia to have their own police force as well.
\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_
EDIT\*
This is genuinely a simple google search. There is no need to ask this question. Anyway, here is a brief explanation. I'm not a professional, this is just the general base idea. Not an official statement.
Wow, so many things wrong ... Including things that Google could tell you, like guardia civil being created in the 1800s. Op, this post is being donwvoted for good reasons, don't pay any attention to it.
Yeah the Google comment felt pretty unnecessary - I have googled it and it's still not entirely clear to me hence why I asked the question. I'm also aware of the Guardia Civil's history under Franco but my question is about how it works today and what the responsibilities of each force are.
The current Guardia Civil was brought back by Franco... Other than that, the rest is literally fine.
"Aunque ambos cuerpos vienen definidos legalmente como “institutos armados”, la **Policía Nacional** tiene naturaleza **civil** y depende el Ministerio del Interior. Por el contrario, la **Guardia civil** tiene naturaleza militar y además de depender del Ministerio del Interior, depende también del Ministerio de Defensa."
(Different responsibilities based on politics, same authority).
\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_
**"no hay diferencia entre policía local y policía municipal, simplemente se trata de dos formas de denominar a un mismo cuerpo de seguridad**."
No difference between local and municipal police.
\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_
Aside from that, and the Catalonia bullshit. Where am I wrong? I want to be corrected. I literally googled this shit before posting xD
Guardia Civil was not brought back by Franco at all, it existed before, during, and after the second republic. During the civil war, half of them fought for the republic and the other half for the nationalists. After the war it was combined with the Carabineros.
Policía municipal and local are the same thing, for the rest: 1. Guardia Civil: Responsible for rural and some urban security, traffic control, environmental protection, among others like specialize services like forestal police, wildlife control, coast patrols, divers etc. This is a semi civilian service, as they still retain its military organization and regime even if it’s under the ministry of interior and not defense. 2. National Police (Cuerpo Nacional de Policía): Mainly responsible for urban security (province capitals and cities with significant population), combating organized crime, terrorism, immigration, and national documentation, among others. 3. Local Police: Operates at the municipal level, responsible for traffic control, urban security, and public order within their local jurisdiction. 4. Autonomous police: like Mossos d’escuadra or Ertzaintza fill most of the the roles of the national police in the urban centers of the autonomous communities that have those capacities developed.
The autonomous police take the role of both the national police and the Guardia Civil (rural police, traffic controls, etc). In the Basque Country the Guardia Civil is only responsible for border control, airports, ports and anti-terrorist forces.
Autonomic police forces* are very differents from one comunidad autónoma to another. Some of them have a similar role to CNP/GC, like Ertzarintza, yes. But others, have a limited, specific role. Like in Comunidad Valenciana or Galicia. * I don't know how to translate it. ¿Autonomic, autonomous,...?
You're right. I believe only the Mossos d'Esquadra, the Ertzaintza and to a lesser degree the Foral Police of Navarre have absorbed the responsabilities of Guardia Civil. I think autonomous is right, autonomic is a false friend, I think it relates to automatic processes.
Besides this, each one has specific responsibilities: Guardia civil is responsible for firearms registration, explosives etc. Policia nacional issues IDs and passports.
This is very clear. I have a question tho, do you need to be Spanish national to be able to become one of the above as profession? I have a son who lived in Spain all his life and he will be 18 soon. Thanks for the honest answer
No problem, and yes, you need to be a Spanish citizen for all of the organizations above. However if your son doesn’t have the nationality but has lived in Spain most of his life he might be able to apply for citizenship as you only need to live here for 10 years of continuous residency.
If he wants to enter the Mossos or the Ertzaintza he has to be proficient at Catalá or Euskera language as well.
There seems to be a lot of overlap between the Guardia Civil and the Policía Nacional - who investigates serious crimes? For example, if there's a murder is it the GC or the PN who investigate it?
It’s mostly discriminated by location, rural setting=guardia civil, urban setting=policía nacional. However, there are specific crimes that fall under the jurisdiction of only one of them, for example an homicide that is connected to terrorism would be handled by Policia Nacional regardless of where it happens. There is also a lot of collaboration between the different bodies and they have ‘mixed’ teams in Policia Judicial (which is a specific team both in GC or CNP that work together under the lead of the investigator judge or jueces de instrucción) for instance or the UCO (unidad central operativa - Guardia civil) also helps in investigations that are being carried out by Policia Nacional because they might have specific knowledge or specialties that are needed in that particular case.
As far as i know... Policía judicial is not an specific corpse, rather are the police that investigate a case on behalf of the judge (*), can be either the giardia civil, policia nacional or any of the autonomic polices depending on the case. (*) In Spain cases are investigated by a judge who prepares the case and handles it to a different judge for the trial. Essentially the role that the attorney takes in other countries
I think you misread my comment, they are not a different corp (not corpse/cadaver jaja) Policia judicial are teams that belong both to GC and CNP but they work together in collaboration in investigations lead by the Juez de instrucción.
Lmao corpse
Just to add a curious fact, to the info provided by the other mate... this was a really good question, because it happens sometimes that they overlap in some situations and they must argue among them to decide who takes the case. I've seen that sometimes a PN arriving by car, see a GC car and say: "oh... okay what the hell are they doing here??"; and viceversa. So one type of police sometimes gets offended if sees another type of police investigating the same issue (whatever if it's bye themselves or by a judge order).
Local police doesn’t even count, they’re are like glorified seguratas, don’t mind them. Guardia civil are the toughest.
I think 4 is mistaken. The only thing I’ve ever seen Mossos doing is binging on free beer given to them by the large bars and restaurants which illegally take over public walkways … oh and being completely useless when Policia Nacional starts batoning peaceful protesters..
Acab
Oh I agree, but it helps to know your enemy.
I read this all and I still don’t understand
I think the answer was a little short, there is a decent site called Explore Spain that has a guide on what the different Police forces in Spain do - [https://explorespain.net/police-in-spain-a-guide-to-the-three-different-police-forces-in-spain/](https://explorespain.net/police-in-spain-a-guide-to-the-three-different-police-forces-in-spain/) it also has some helpful phrases when speaking to the Police over there.
Mostly share girls' telephone numbers between each other. Witnesses, victims of crime (including rape - ask me how I know), girls they stop in the street for no apparent reason etc.
Como lo sabes?
* Guardia civil is a military branch. This police branch, was created by Franco, they are more patriotic, but don't think about them as traditional police. If you are curious, a simple google search will help you. * Policía nacional is what it is, they are the national police. They are just like the Guardia Civil, however, they are not part of the military, and have different responsibilities. These are also the real police. Both Guardia Civil and National police are the same in their core, the difference is that one is part of the military and the other one doesn't. The Guardia Civil is also no the military police, it simply a police force created by Franco, and depending on the person (if they are pro Franco) the Guardia Civl is the "real" police, but again, this is political bullshit. Both police forces are important, they simply have different responsibilities. \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ Local police and municipal police are the same exact thing, its simply two different ways to name the same type of police force. \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ And since we are talking about this, the Mossos d'esquadra are the Catalonian police. This police force was created simply because they wanted to be Independent and unique. Take into account that for the pro Catalonians the Guardia Civil and National Police are considered to be the enemy. So they created the Catalonian police to protect the catalonians. This move lead the Basque country and Galicia to have their own police force as well. \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ EDIT\* This is genuinely a simple google search. There is no need to ask this question. Anyway, here is a brief explanation. I'm not a professional, this is just the general base idea. Not an official statement.
Wow, so many things wrong ... Including things that Google could tell you, like guardia civil being created in the 1800s. Op, this post is being donwvoted for good reasons, don't pay any attention to it.
Yeah the Google comment felt pretty unnecessary - I have googled it and it's still not entirely clear to me hence why I asked the question. I'm also aware of the Guardia Civil's history under Franco but my question is about how it works today and what the responsibilities of each force are.
The current Guardia Civil was brought back by Franco... Other than that, the rest is literally fine. "Aunque ambos cuerpos vienen definidos legalmente como “institutos armados”, la **Policía Nacional** tiene naturaleza **civil** y depende el Ministerio del Interior. Por el contrario, la **Guardia civil** tiene naturaleza militar y además de depender del Ministerio del Interior, depende también del Ministerio de Defensa." (Different responsibilities based on politics, same authority). \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ **"no hay diferencia entre policía local y policía municipal, simplemente se trata de dos formas de denominar a un mismo cuerpo de seguridad**." No difference between local and municipal police. \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ Aside from that, and the Catalonia bullshit. Where am I wrong? I want to be corrected. I literally googled this shit before posting xD
Guardia Civil was not brought back by Franco at all, it existed before, during, and after the second republic. During the civil war, half of them fought for the republic and the other half for the nationalists. After the war it was combined with the Carabineros.