The UFP-CV union, which represents police officers across the Valencia region, are demanding the “urgent” creation of a National Police station in Torrevieja.
They say that the population of the town quadruples in the summer, increasing from 107,000 people to over 400,000. Cities over 100,000 people would normally qualify for a National Police presence, although the official census figure for Torrevieja now stands at just 91,415, far below the required threshold, following an apparent mass exodus of foreign residents and subsequent cleanup of the padrón last year.
The police union however are concerned that the lack of a police station “threatens the quality of public safety in the area”, as the needs of Torrevieja “are covered almost daily by members of the police station of Alicante” and the area is at increased risk from organised gangs from Eastern Europe.
The union say that despite years of promises of the creation of a police station, “There are always excuses and obstacles, it is never a priority,” and therefore the role of public safety is assumed by the Guardia Civil and local police.