Spain intensified its fight against crime in tourist areas

USPA NEWS - Secretary of State for Security of the Government of Spain, Francisco Martínez, opened in Benalmádena (Málaga) New Service office Foreign Tourist Assistance (SATE in its Spanish acronym), which will begin service immediately, and signed a cooperation agreement for the launch of another SATE.

Francisco Martinez explained that with the addition of a new office's network of services to citizens in areas of high tourist season takes another step in the expansion of the branch network Foreign Tourist Assistance, incorporating a new office SATE at 20 currently offering service in Andalusia, Balearic Islands, Valencia and Madrid. Secretary of State for Security said that one of the specific commitments of his Department is fighting crime in tourist areas and providing personalized service to tourists who are victims of crime. "Citizens are demanding and require a larger security, which also covers areas such as the stability of the economy or the protection of economic resources," said Francisco Martinez.

These offices SATE program 'Smart Borders', which aims connect all existing information systems regarding visas, automated border control and advanced passenger information and all databases running joins. On this matter, Francisco Martinez said that this is "an essential tool to facilitate border crossing for travelers and improve the management and flow of them. In this way, Spain is also positioned in the list of innovative countries betting by the intelligent security."

The Secretary of State said that in the last year have operated "very satisfactorily" in the vicinity From the community of Valencia and the Balearic Islands, joint patrols of members of the Civil Guard and the French National Gendarmerie (see related story on uspa24.com). Francisco Martínez further recalled that members of the German Police have moved to the Balearic Islands to patrol and operate jointly with the Spanish National Police. Also, some members of the Republican National Guard Portugal have joined the work of the Spanish Forces Security in the province of Huelva.

Secretary of State for Security also highlighted the cooperation provided by the Royal Moroccan Gendarmerie in towns like Algeciras, Almeria and Motril, which "is also proving very positive in terms of reducing crime and improving safety." Francisco Martinez said that prevention and involvement of citizens as active contributors to their own safety "are fundamental to the policy of the Ministry of Interior and campaigns like 'My home safe' are a great example of that." He added that last year, "the work of the National Police has been instrumental awareness of citizens in improving their own safety, by spreading among tourists from 250,000 brochures and 1,800 posters, available in 11 languages".

Secretary of State for Security said that the implementation of the 'Tourism Security Plan' in 2014 "is the best reflection of the commitment of the Government of Spain with constantly improving safety and protection of our tourism industry, vital to progress on the road to economic recovery and job creation in Granada and Spain ". In this regard, Francisco Martínez said that during 2014 has significantly increased the network services offices Foreign Tourists (SATE), "as a sign of the commitment of the Government of Spain with the safety of citizens and the protection of our tourism industry , which is a very significant source of wealth creation and employment."

He explained that it has increased the number of offices SATE about 50% from the 14 existing in 2013 to a total of 21, allowing serve more people, a total of 20,262 persons, representing an increase of 25.6% compared to 2013. Also, the number of complaints handled in SATE totaled 12,974, 82.2% more than the previous year. In addition, during 2014 were held 190 coordination meetings with various delegations and subdelegations of the Government, representing an increase of 77.6% over 2013. There have also been about 2,300 meetings with various agencies and public institutions a 124.2% more than the previous year and 6,145 meetings have been held with agencies and private institutions, 45.3% more than in the previous year.