· The Government delegate underlines the role of the Civil Guard in the fight against gender violence, hate crimes and cybercrime
· The Valencian Community has more than 7,300 officers of the Civil Guard, which represents an increase of 6.3% since 2018
The delegate of the Government in the Valencian Community, Pilar Bernabé, has presided together with the General Chief of the Sixth Zone, Arturo Prieto, the commemorative events of the day of the patron saint of the Civil Guard that have been held in Cullera, which has also been attended by the mayor of the town, Jordi Mayor.
In these acts, the delegate has valued “the work and professionalism” of the Civil Guard to guarantee a “safe Valencian Community with a crime rate that conforms to an autonomy with 5 million inhabitants but that receives more than 20 million visitors each year”. The Civil Guard “guarantees security in 515 municipalities of the Valencian Community, which means that it protects people from 90% of the Valencian territory and almost half of its total population”. Likewise, Bernabé has highlighted “the structuring role of the Armed Institute in the less populated areas of the Valencian Community”. This is “a commendable job in those areas that suffer from the phenomenon of depopulation, where the Civil Guard guarantees the protection of people and goods in a complex mission because it requires a very atomized deployment.”
Barnabas has also highlighted the actions developed by the Civil Guard in the fight against the new criminal typologies. At this point, the delegate has pointed to computer crime as “those responsible for the increases in crime balances experienced by some towns and cities”. Meanwhile, “conventional criminality falls or remains at similar values, the growth of cybercrime distorts data,” he said. In the last Report on Criminality in Spain of 2023, the Valencian Community is placed as the fourth autonomy that concentrates more denounced facts in this field. The delegate has also highlighted the role of the Civil Guard in the eradication of gender violence and in the fight against hate crimes. In 2023 in the Valencian Community, 252 criminal offenses for hate crimes were known, which is 64 more than in 2022. The Civil Guard troops are “the first line in the fight against hatred and in the defense of diversity,” Barnabas stressed.
The Valencian Community has 7,300 officers of the Civil Guard. Thus, from 2018 to today, the number of civil guards serving in the Valencian Community has grown by 6.3%, which means in total numbers 435 more guards. The delegate congratulated the Armed Institute for “the progressive incorporation of women” and encouraged “to continue working for real and effective equality.”
In terms of infrastructure, Bernabé recalled that works are being promoted in cantonments of the Comunitat Valencia worth 18 million euros, among which he has highlighted “a work that is going to be a milestone in the province of Alicante”: the new Cantonment of the Civil Guard in Mutxamel, whose works began in March and with an investment of 8.3 million euros will serve to service the 60 agents responsible for providing security to the 52,000 inhabitants of Mutxamel and Sant Joan.
On this day, 30 decorations of the Order of Merit of the Civil Guard, 5 medals to the Military Merit, 2 medals of the Royal Order of San Hermenegildo and 3 medals to the Constancia in the Service have been awarded. Barnabas congratulated all the winners and thanked them for their work and professionalism.