Officers from the French National Gendarmerie have joined colleagues from the Guardia Civil in Spain as part of the summer tourism operations aimed at maintaining a safer environment for international and domestic tourists in the country.
This week, French officers have been welcomed to the Alicante town of Altea, amongst some of the most popular tourist destinations for French visitors.
The Spanish Government has implemented the 2016 plan, which has proved a huge success in previous years, not only because foreign visitors feel more at ease when they see their own national police, but shared intelligence through the European-wide collaboration has been proven to lead to a reduction in organised crime across the continent.
In addition to the European assistance, Spain also strengthens the presence of its own security services in the tourist rich towns, including relocating officers from the likes of the Guardia Civil and the police, and the opening of specially adapted officers where tourists can be dealt with in their own native language. In addition, the Valencia regional police also increase controls in tourist areas, and so with the collaboration of all forces not only is security increased, the impact and risk of crime decreases.
For its part, the Guardia Civil collaborates with Europe-wide forces throughout the year, including an exchange program run through the European Police College, where information and knowledge on practices and operations are shared through the continent.