The Civil Guard of Cantabria, during the Lebaniego Jubilee Year that ends on April 14, has carried out about 5,000 services, mainly aimed at citizen and road safety, attention to pilgrims and the normal development of the activities programmed on the occasion of this event.
According to statements of the Government delegate in Cantabria, Eugenia Gómez de Diego, "these services represent a significant effort on the part of the Civil Guard to guarantee the safety and well-being of all citizens and pilgrims during this important period for the region."
Thus, Gómez de Diego highlighted the “commitment” of the Civil Guard troops, affirming that “the coordinated work of the different specialties has allowed to maintain a safe environment, demonstrating once again the high level of professionalism of our security force.”
During the aforementioned services, more than 3,400 actions were carried out, much of them aimed at security on the Lebaniego Road and attention to pilgrims. In this way, more than 1,400 aids were provided to pilgrims and visitors to the Monastery of Santo Toribio de Liébana, informative actions on routes, safety recommendations, sanitary aids, accompaniments or provision of mechanical assistance on the road.
Some 130 meetings and contacts were held with the different actors involved in this operation, both with public entities, as well as with the health, commercial, hotel and catering sectors and groups considered vulnerable, aimed at security and coordination with them.
These data have been presented by the delegate and the chief colonel of the Civil Guard in Cantabria, Antonio Orantos, during the celebration of the Security Board that has been held in the Government Delegation on the occasion of the closing of the Holy Year Lebaniego.
Crime prevention
Another important chapter of these actions was the carrying out of preventive actions and detection of criminal acts and administrative infractions, carrying out more than 1,500 actions.
This work yielded a positive result, being known in just one year 19 criminal offenses related to the application of this plan (theft, damages, scams and threats, mainly), proceeding to the arrest or investigation of 18 people.
In administrative matters, more than 100 interventions were carried out that ended with complaints or seizures of narcotic substances or other dangerous effects for public safety. The complaints were related to the consumption or possession of narcotic substances, contravening regulations on accommodation, possession of weapons or dangerous objects, as well as others related to the protection of nature and the environment.
Eleven Civil Guard specialties
This operation, which has had different phases of intensification, coinciding with scheduled events of important public attendance, as well as the periods of greater influx of visitors and pilgrims to the Monastery of Santo Toribio de Liébana, has counted on a significant number of personnel of the Civil Guard of Cantabria, as well as other units of this Corps from outside this Autonomous Community, all belonging to eleven specialties of this Corps.
Throughout the Lebaniego Jubilee Year, components of Citizen Security, Traffic Grouping, SEPRONA, GREIM, Judicial Police, Information Service, Fiscal Patrols, and Intervention of Weapons and Explosives of the Civil Guard of Cantabria have been involved.
In different phases, it has been supported by the Reserve and Security Group (ARS), with special intervention in the maintenance of public order, the Cavalry Group, with functions equally of public order and attention to the pilgrim, and the Air Service with helicopters to provide security from the air.
For the closing ceremony of the Lebaniego Jubilee Year and the closing of the Door of Forgiveness, the Civil Guard is designing an operation similar to that of the opening, having a Command Post in the vicinity of the Monastery, where the images and data of the different operational applications of the Civil Guard will be received, from there to direct the operation, in order to guarantee security to all attendees.
During the rest of the year, attention will continue to be paid to pilgrims who travel through Cantabria, both on the Camino de Santiago, and others, who, taking advantage of the good weather, want to make the Camino Lebaniego.
ALERTCOPS application
Throughout the Lebaniego Jubilee Year, in the free mobile phone application ALERTCOPS of the Secretary of State for Security, the “Camino Lebaniego” function is available, with which pilgrims and visitors can share their position with the Civil Guard, which facilitates being located in case of emergency. Also in operation is the “Private Guardian” function, with which you can share your positions with trusted people.
ALERTCOPS continues to operate for all users who want to make use of it, being a safe way to establish direct communication with the nearest police force, to report a fact of which you are being a victim or witness, with the possibility of attaching images and videos. The SOS button of the application, offers protection by just pressing an icon on the main screen of the mobile, passing the warning instantly to the nearest forces and security bodies.