The government delegate in Extremadura, José Luis Quintana, today presented the campaign that the Civil Guard will launch next week to deal with robberies in the field on the occasion of the olive campaign in the province of Badajoz. Accompanied by the Chief General of the Civil Guard of Extremadura, Carlos Sarrión, and the lieutenant colonel, Manuel Delgado, Quintana has highlighted the importance of collaboration with other administrations to improve prevention and surveillance in a campaign in which an increase in production is estimated.
Remember that since 2013 the Civil Guard activated the Plan against subtractions in agricultural and livestock farms, with the entry into service of the ROCA teams in the Command in Badajoz. Currently, a total of 7 units of the ROCA teams operate in Badajoz, with almost 40 personnel in service, and they are responsible for coordinating the device of other Civil Guard units such as USECIC and SEPRONA.
The surveillance work in this campaign will also be strengthened with the Cavalry Squadron Unit and the Civil Guard Air Service (drones and helicopter) to act in those areas with the highest incidence.
The objective in this campaign is to increase the work of prevention and presence on the farms with the RACE equipment, as well as maintain an intense inspection activity on the olive collection points and subsequent supply points.
As usual, the important collaboration of other Administrations such as the Junta de Extremadura and the municipalities in producing areas, or the National Republican Guard of Portugal will be requested for actions in areas bordering between the two countries.
Quintana has pointed out that we must be aware of the importance of this surveillance work for the surface to be covered in an eminently agricultural province and where olives are a very important activity for the agricultural economy. “But we must be aware that this is a crop that due to its characteristics incorporates an enormous complexity to clarify the investigations carried out by the subtractions,” he said.
In this regard, the Government Delegation has promoted meetings that contribute to improving the control and surveillance channels in both transport and collection points. The result of this improvement in the collaboration highlights the fact that in a campaign marked by good prices there was no significant increase in thefts. The government delegate recalled that the amount subtracted increased by 6%, according to the allegations raised, of which the Civil Guard recovered almost 60% of the subtracted olives, almost 130,000 kilos of olives.
In addition, the last campaign ended with a 195% increase in complaints for infractions and a 190% increase in joint inspections.
Finally, Quintana wanted to highlight the commendable work and commitment of the Civil Guard troops, which, together with the knowledge of the terrain and the members of the criminal groups, allowed to achieve good results in arrests and recovery of the stolen product.