Police and civil guards are suspicious of the Housing Law for "obstructing" the operations against 'squatters'

They criticize that their opinion has not been taken into account, as already happened with the ill-fated reform of the 'gag law'

MADRID, 1 May. (EUROPA PRESS) -

Several unions of the National Police and Civil Guard associations have shown their suspicions after Congress approved the Housing Law, considering that it can operationally "hinder" their actions against squatters and also in cases of evictions. The criticism stems from the fact that the Government has not taken his opinion into account, as already happened with the ill-fated reform of the 'gag law' on citizen security.

"The new Housing Law does nothing more than deepen the insecurity that the police already suffer in this type of situation," Hugo del Prado, spokesman for JUPOL, pointed out in statements to Europa Press.

According to this Police union, with this rule "they will not be able to intervene by surprise by having to communicate the day and time in advance of the police intervention for the eviction of the occupied dwelling".

The new law incorporates a battery of legal modifications to make it difficult to evict people in a situation of economic vulnerability, especially when the landlord is a large property owner, and evictions will be prevented when no conciliation act has been attempted. The Executive has highlighted the difference between actions for non-payment and those cases in which action is taken against 'squatters'.

"Operatively, it seems to us that the Law will obviously harm and hinder our work," added the general secretary of the Spanish Police Confederation (CEP), Víctor M. Vigil, who also stressed that the "element of surprise" is lost ", which puts the safety of the agents at risk.

"If there are incidents previously planned to hinder or prevent the eviction, they can lead to disturbances of public order and put third parties at risk," added the CEP spokesman, reluctant that they have to "communicate the date and time of launch". "We are facing an unnecessary novelty and that represents a very important obstacle for the work of the Security Forces and Bodies", he remarked.

From the police unions they consider that "it is striking again" that a regulatory reform that affects police work is proposed without even seeking the opinion of the representatives of the representative organizations, as happened with the 'gag law' that has not been able to reform the Government of PSOE and Unidas Podemos due to the lack of support from their parliamentary partners.

As a contrary example, they cite the case of the Sports Law, where in its day the contribution of representatives of the Security Forces was received.

"We are not asking to condition the political agenda of this country, but we do ask that we be heard every time a legal change is proposed that could harm our tasks. Among other reasons, to avoid legal risks in our work and to be able to guarantee the integrity of the police in interventions that, as occurs with home invasions, pose obvious operational risks", has indicated Víctor M. Vigil.

Both the Unified Police Union (SUP) and the Unified Association of Civil Guards (AUGC) have insisted on the latter by demanding that the Government end the "gaps" through "protocols and clear instructions and with legal guarantees" for the agents .

"The civil guards work to guarantee respect for the law and the protection of the rights of citizens and, in this sense, we defend the need to provide them with the necessary resources and tools to effectively combat illegal 'squatting'", he concluded. AUGC spokesman, Pedro Carmona.

In September 2020, both the Prosecutor's Office and the Ministry of the Interior issued instructions to unify the action protocols against the 'squatting', both in trespassing and usurpation, but already then the main unions reacted coldly, understanding that "it did not contribute nothing new" and maintained "personal and legal" insecurity for the acting agents.

Complaints for these crimes of 'squatting' dropped 3% in 2022 and 11% in the first quarter of 2023, although 2021 set a record with 17,274 cases, according to data from the Ministry of the Interior's Crime Statistical System. Catalonia continues to lead prominently by counting 1,673 cases until March 31, 42% of the total.

Faced with criticism from the main opposition parties, the Minister Spokesperson for the Government, Isabel Rodríguez, has maintained that the new Housing Law does not hinder evictions in homes, also recalling that the Executive is processing mechanisms to in 48 hours "expel the 'squatters' with k who illegally access the homes."