Mijas calls for new Guardia Civil headquarters and more officers for 'under-staffed' force

Mijas needs a new Guardia Civil headquarters and more officers in the municipality. This is the opinion of the town council, which, through its mayor, Ana Mata (PP), has written to Spain's ministry of interior requesting an "urgent" response to an "unsustainable situation" caused by the progressive increase in population experienced by this municipality, which now has more than 90,000 registered inhabitants. A growth which, according to the mayor, has not been accompanied by an increase in the number of state security forces in the town, unlike in other neighbouring municipalities.

It was also stated in the letter that Mijas has an area of about 150 square kilometres, which makes it one of the largest towns in Malaga province. In the municipality there are urban, rural, coastal and non-coastal urban areas that need the attention of both the Guardia Civil and the Local Police. To this end, the number of Guardia Civil officers available is 150, which for the councillor for security, Juan Carlos Cuevas, means that the town is "under-staffed".

"We have a very small number of officers for the size of our population. We are the third largest municipality in the province, but this is not reflected in the number of officers. The comparison is very simple: in ten square kilometres and with a smaller population than Mijas, Fuengirola has 300 National Police officers", said the councillor, who also pointed out that Marbella has more than 400 National Police officers for a population of more than 156,000 inhabitants.

As far as infrastructure is concerned, both the mayor and the councillor said that land has been available to the government for years for the creation of a new Guardia Civil headquarters, as "the current facility has become obsolete and has a pressing lack of space for the officers to live in".

According to the data provided, the Mijas Local Police force receives daily calls from the Guardia Civil requesting collaboration "due to the lack of resources to deal with emergencies": In addition to this request for assistance, during the period from January to July 2024, "our switchboard has handled 2,400 more calls than in the same period last year. This increase in the demand for services reflects the urgent need to reinforce the Civil Guard's resources in our municipality".

"We are talking about such an important issue as security, so we hope that the ministry of interior is aware that the reality of Mijas is not the same as it was thirty years ago. In addition, the Guardia Civil who serve in our municipality deserve to have the best services and facilities, so we are willing to cede the land for this new headquarters that is so necessary," the mayor said.