The Tarragona City Council and the Ministry of the Interior are working to recover the old Mossos d'Esquadra police station in Les Gavarres to use it to house emergency corps offices.
This is one of the points that has been discussed in the Tarragona Local Security Board, chaired by the Minister of the Interior, Joan Ignasi Elena, and the mayor of the city, Rubén Viñuales. They also explained that they have three projects on the table regarding the future local police station, which will be located in the Tarragona bus station and will be shared between the Urban Police and the Mossos d'Esquadra. Both leaders have committed to having it completed during this municipal mandate.
The mayor has insisted that they want "efficiency" in space, and not build a site "that is already born small."
Regarding the Gavarres police station, Viñuales has stated that it could house the new members of the Mossos d'Esquadra who will arrive in Tarragona in the coming years. The councilor promised to increase police staff, but did not give any exact figure.
Elena has announced that the Torredembarra police station will be finished in April.
The Local Security Board has also put the figures of criminal acts on the table. In the period between August 2022 and July 2023, compared to the previous period (August 2021 – July 2022), criminal offenses have increased by 13% compared to the previous period.
Mainly, crimes against property have been recorded, with 7,652 in the previous period and 9,061 in the current period, which have increased by 18%; but on the other hand, crimes against road safety have decreased by 21.3% (being 572 in the previous period and 450 in the current one). Regarding administrative infractions, according to Mossos data, in the current period they have also increased by 24.4%, reaching 978 and in the previous one, 786. The increase is mainly recorded in the months of November and April.
Traffic accidents decreased by 3.4%; with very low numbers of mortality and serious injuries (2 and 40 respectively) and a significant decrease in minor injuries. Offenses against road safety have also decreased significantly, with 21.3% less than in the previous period and the almost 200 offenses for driving under the influence of alcohol still stand out. Traffic complaints were also reduced by 15.7%.
The Environment Unit, for its part, has carried out a total of 1,365 actions, of which the 338 inspections on plots of land for uncontrolled discharges stand out; the 326 for actions of animals in a state of abandonment or similar warnings and 251 interventions in surveillance of the natural environment.
Both Viñuales and Elena highlighted the "coordination and good harmony" of the emergency bodies and the councilor recalled that on average in Tarragona there are two activations of the Urban Guard or the Mossos d'esquadra every quarter of an hour. It is "a stratospheric job that they do, they must be reinforced," Elena stated.
