What Is the Difference Between the National Police, Local Police and Guardia Civil in Spain?
Many things catch your eye when you are a newcomer to Spain. Often they are curious quirks that don’t really affect your day to day life in any way. The eating schedule, everyone disappearing (or appearing, depending on where you live!) in August and marvelling at how they eat pipas (shelled sunflower seeds) so quickly!
But at times a lack of understanding could leave you feeling a bit lost, especially in a time of need.
This dawned on me when I asked my wife about the Guardia Civil in Spain and first realised that there were, not one, not two, but three different types of police here! And a question arose…
If I’m in a spot of bother, who do I call?
I was confused.
So, as is my custom I took a deep dive and thought I’d share my findings with other curious-minded foreigners coming to or living in Spain. Like you!
What Are the Different Types of Spanish Police?
Especially if you live in a big city, it may be common to come across all varieties of police at some point. The Guardia Civil in their striking avocado/olive green uniforms, the Policia National and the Policia Municipal. All of them carry weapons and aim to protect their citizens accordingly.
This is the reason I was so confused. But upon investigation, they are very different.
The main differences between the different types of Spanish police are:
The Guardia Civil in Spain is overseen by both the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Defense. They are a military force that maintains order and fight crime mainly in rural areas, coasts and highways. The National Police is governed by the Ministry of the Interior and focus on serious crimes in more urban locations. Finally, the Local Police (Policía Municipal) is overseen by the local government (ayuntamiento) and their responsibilities cover things from enforcing traffic laws to keeping the general peace and order within a city.
So now that is clear let us take a closer look at their duties.
The Guardia Civil in Spain
The Civil Guard is the oldest police force in Spain, founded in 1844. Their military connection stems from the fact that they can be called upon in times of war as an additional security force by the Ministry of Defence.
So where will you see the Guardia Civil in Spain?
For most Spaniards, the iconic image of the Guardia civil has to be the 2 officers on their motorbikes riding down the motorway. And this is where most of us will cross paths with one…
On the whole, they are most visible in rural parts of Spain. You can also find them on ports and the main highways, as they cover the majority of the Spanish territory, excluding the Basque Country. However, the local and national government may decide to put some larger towns under the observation of the Guardia Civil and not the National Police.
They live in barracks called “casas cuartels” which will be their hub, rather than a traditional police station.
The Guardia Civil protects the economic interest of Spain at the borders, covering things like customs and preventing contraband from entering the country. They are also the authority on anything related to weapons and explosives. In addition, they have units that cover maritime activity, aerial support, intelligence services and…well, basically everything. They have even done peacekeeping operations in other countries.
There are very few areas of modern-day policing that they do not cover and based on their reputation, they do it very well. So to summarize, if you see a Guardia Civil in Spain, pointy hat or not, know that they mean business. If you need help dealing with a serious crime and especially if you live in a more rural part of Spain, you want the Guardia Civil. You can contact them on 062.
The National Police
Now the National Police are what most of us coming from abroad are used to when it comes to their duties, barring one thing, which I’ll touch on later.
Established in 1986, the Cuerpo Nacional de Policía (CNP) to go by its official name are overseen by the government, specifically the Ministry of the Interior. This armed force’s focus is mainly in urban areas, enforcing national laws and criminal justice codes. They are responsible for border control so you will see this arm of Spanish police check passports at the airport. They also investigate serious crimes.
They are present throughout the country (hence the word national) but with a few exceptions. In Catalonia they have the Mossos d’Esquadra, the Basque Country has the Ertzaintza and Navarra the Policia Foral.
This force also has specialist units focusing on riot control, organised crime and more.
Given their seniority, the one area that I always found curious is that they are responsible for issuing passports and ID cards. Having to go through all that training to have to deal with silly foreign people like me who have lost our NIE card seems a bit unusual. But the buck stops with them and I imagine a sea of paperwork is common no matter what branch of policing you get into.
So, if you look out your window and see the National Police in their black uniforms outside the building in front of you, assume something serious has gone down. They investigate serious crimes and if you need them you can reach them on 091.
The Local Police
Lastly, we come to the Local police, known here as the Policía Municipal. They are overseen by the local government.
A local government can establish this force when a town has more than 5,000 inhabitants. Their role is to support and assist the National Police in their task, essentially taking the load off what would otherwise be an overrun public service.
We can see this in their main responsibilities. Although armed, they spend the majority of their time maintaining peace and order, dealing with petty crimes and controlling anything related to the roads. Basically, don’t do any dodgy parking or manoeuvres in front of one, they will fine you.
They also guard local government buildings and attend to civil disturbances, but their powers run-up to a point. While they have the powers of arrest, they will not be involved in any further investigation of a crime. At that point, the issue will be escalated up to either the National Police or the Guardia Civil.
So, if your neighbour is playing Los del Rio at 4 in the morning or you’ve had your phone stolen, the Policia Municipal is for you. You can contact them on 092.
Spanish Police Made Simple
So in summary, the Guardia Civil in Spain, and the National Police deal with serious crimes. Who deals with what depends on where it happens, although each has a speciality meaning they may work together. In contrast, the local police assist both bodies by dealing with smaller scale civil disturbances and responsibilities.
If you are ever in a fix and don’t know who to call however it is best to call the emergency services on 112 and let them direct your query.
I hope you found this breakdown useful. If you wound up here I’m sure that this isn’t the only time you’ll have scratched your head about anything Spain related. If so, I may have the answer!
Have a look around the rest of my blog to find out!