Virginia Barcones presides over the 179 anniversary of the Civil Guard in Valladolid

• Barcones places the accent on the increase in cybercrime in the province of Valladolid that already reaches 25% of the criminal offenses committed • During the event he highlighted the capacity of the Benemérita to adapt to the new times through the professionalization of agents and the modernization of teams that allow to face new challenges

June 08, 2023.- The delegate of the Government in Castilla y León, Virginia Barcones, today presided over the 179 anniversary of the Civil Guard held in the Command. During the event, he stressed that cybercrime is one of the future challenges of the State Security Forces and Corps.

The delegate has intervened in the military act to congratulate the institution for staying true to “the values and principles with which it was founded.” Values such as honesty, professionalism, loyalty, selfless work and vocation of service to the citizen, principles that make us feel “proud of our Civil Guard”.

Virginia Barcones has stressed that during these 179 years there have been political, social, economic or cultural changes. These alterations to which the Civil Guard has been able to adapt through the change of internal structures, procedures and greater professionalization and modernization. “Without a doubt, you are prepared to face the remains of the future,” he said.

It has pointed to cybercrime as one of those future challenges as a result of the massive use of the internet and the emergence of new online shopping platforms. In fact, he explained that in the case of the province of Valladolid the increase in cybercrime has been 131% since 2019, a growth that in the case of computer scams approaches 5,000 complaints, which represents 25% of the criminal offenses committed in Valladolid. To combat these virtual criminals, the Civil Guard has already created the ‘Teams @’, an “example of the adaptive capacity of the Benemérito Corps”.

Virginia Barcones has stressed that the appearance of new types of crimes does not prevent the Civil Guard from continuing to monitor the most vulnerable groups in society such as the elderly, minors or victims of gender violence. “For years, the Civil Guard has had a comprehensive system to protect these victims,” he said, citing the Viogen teams against gender violence or the REDO Hate Crime Response teams (created last year).

The Government delegate has thanked society and other institutions for their collaboration with the Civil Guard. He highlighted the good harmony between the Benemérita and the National Police Force, a coordination that reaches all “actors involved in citizen security: Local police, private security, penitentiary institutions and, of course, the Administration of Justice”.

Finally, he highlighted the figure of Colonel Andrés Velarde. The new head of the Command of Valladolid joined this destination on May 10 after nine years at the head of the Civil Guard in Soria, where he stood out for his “effort, his dedication, his professionalism and his vocation of public service. I am convinced that the same performance that he will carry out in the Command of Valladolid for the pride of this province,” concluded Virginia Barcones.