The mayors of nine towns in Maresme, who belong to the Junts political party, have demanded today from Calella a greater effort to promote laws against multiple recidivism and illegal occupation. The councilors demand that the politicians of the Parliament and Congress work to modify the legislation to facilitate the toughening of penalties. A demand that arises in the face of the wave of crimes carried out by a group of formerly protected youth.
Municipal representatives openly declare themselves “powerless” in the face of the avalanche of criminal acts committed by these 11 teenagers, “who are back on the streets a few hours after being arrested.” For this reason, they demand the application of all legal mechanisms available so that, apart from toughening multiple recidivism and illegal occupation, in the case of foreign criminals, the devices are activated for their expulsion from the country.
"We want legislation of the 21st century," the municipal representatives claimed at a press conference and to this end they demand the support of their representatives in the Spanish and Catalan legislative chambers to promote changes in criminal laws and guarantee the right of citizens "to go calm in the streets" as claimed by the mayor of Vilassar de Mar, Laura Martínez.
In parallel, and to counteract the appearance of the mayors, the Department of the Interior announced hours before the protest that it will assign more Mossos d'Esquadra to the Maresme region next summer, without specifying the number of troops. A promise that has outraged the mayors who, like Marc Buch, from Calella, claim to have learned the news through the press. Hence their reaction demanding “more measures against crime and fewer advertisements in the media.” Some solutions that coincided "cannot be long-term, but must be applied immediately" especially with regard to police reinforcement.
Last November 16, the mayors of nine municipalities of the Alt Maresme, not only Junts, sent a letter to the Minister of the Interior, Joan Ignasi Elena, giving an account of the needs of the territory, lack of police personnel, especially during the summer campaign . The mayors of Arenys de Mar, Calella, Canet de Mar, Malgrat de Mar, Pineda de Mar, Palafolls, Santa Susanna, Sant Pol de Mar and Tordera assure that "to date we have not received a response from the councilor".
The mayors of Maresme have also admitted that "something is wrong in immigration policies when this happens to us" in reference to the case of the 11 young repeat offenders, many of whom had been housed in shelters in Calella supervised by the General Directorate. d'Atenció a la Infància (DGAIA) but who were left helpless when they came of age, so they chose to make crime their way of life. "Immigrants are welcome, but afterwards the accompaniment process cannot fail," warned the mayor of Calella.
