Alicante City Council officially added 27 new patrol cars to the Local Police force on Thursday, 30th June. These vehicles had been sitting in the municipal depot since April, awaiting approval of their purchase by the local government. The City Council allocated 1.7 million euro to their acquisition, which complements the 30 additional units delivered at the end of 2024. With this addition, the Councillor for Security, Julio Calero, considers the current fleet complete, pending the launch of a contract to acquire new motorcycles and ATVs.
The contract, formalised on December 24th, stipulated the supply, through a financial lease with an option to purchase, of 27 patrol vehicles for 48 months. The hybrid SUVs include a prisoner transport kit, a minimum power of 200 horsepower, automatic transmission, and the markings, lighting, and sirens required by current regional regulations. However, although the tender specifications allow for a maximum of eight months for delivery, the vehicles arrived last April and have remained immobilised in the municipal vehicle depot ever since. Specifically, according to sources close to the process, the contract was pending final approval from the City Council, as these types of acquisitions must be reviewed by the Comptroller’s Office.
The new units were presented at an event held in the Town Hall square, in which the mayor of Alicante, Luis Barcala, was accompanied by the Councillor for Security, the Chief of the Local Police, José María Conesa, police commanders and various councillors of the Municipal Corporation, since the purchase operation is included within the budgetary agreements reached between the Vox group and the municipal executive.
During the meeting, the Councillor for Public Safety announced the imminent opening of the new Local Police Headquarters at the complex on Locutor Vicente Hipólito Avenue, as well as the start of construction on the Juan XXIII police station in the northern part of the city, with investments of 2.8 million euro and 450,000 euro, respectively. In addition to these 27 new patrol cars, 30 other police vehicles have been added to the fleet since the end of 2024. Specifically: nine Ford Kuga SUV patrol cars, six Ford Focus passenger cars, three Ford Ranger pickup trucks for rural patrols, one van serving as a Mobile Citizen Service Office, one electric vehicle for service on Tabarca Island, and ten BMW 600cc motorcycles.
In this regard, Calero explained that, in addition, “the tender documents for a new public contract are being prepared to supply new motorcycles and quads worth around 170,000 euro and to continue reinforcing and renewing the Local Police fleet, which already has well over a hundred vehicles renewed with the most advanced technology, with some 70 cars and more than 60 motorcycles, including scooters and high-displacement motorcycles.”
The Councillor for Public Safety specified that the entire Local Police uniform has also been renewed and that 43 regulation handguns and accessories, five electronic immobilisation weapons (tasers) and accessories, 150 bulletproof vests, 110 motorcycle helmets with integrated Bluetooth, and 24 riot shields have been acquired. All of this, including vehicles and equipment, represents an investment of over 1.1 million euro.
“Similarly,” Calero indicated, “a new competitive examination process is underway to fill 16 new Local Police positions and, more importantly, to have a job pool that allows us to respond to the needs of the service with the incorporation of temporary staff, until new vacant positions can be announced.”
