The Civil Guard (Spanish: Guardia Civil; [ˈɡwaɾðja θiˈβil]) is the oldest law enforcement agency in Spain and is one of two national police forces. As a national gendarmerie force, it is military in nature and is responsible for civil policing under the authority of both the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Defence. The role of the Ministry of Defence is limited except in times of war when the Ministry has exclusive authority. The corps is colloquially known as the benemérita (reputable). In annual surveys, it generally ranks as the national institution most valued by Spaniards, closely followed by other law enforcement agencies and the armed forces.It has both a regular national role and undertakes specific foreign peacekeeping missions and is part of the European Gendarmerie Force. As a national gendarmerie force, the Civil Guard was modelled on the French National Gendarmerie and has many similarities.As part of its daily duties, the Civil Guard patrols and investigates crimes in rural areas, including highways and ports, whilst the National Police deals with safety in urban situations. Most cities also have a Municipal Police Force. The three forces are nationally co-ordinated by the Ministry of the Interior. The Civil Guard is usually stationed at casas cuartel, which are both minor residential garrisons and fully-equipped police stations......
Desgraciadamente, en más ocasiones de las deseadas, cuando se acude a textos de carácter histórico para conocer más sobre un hecho de interés, se suelen encontrar elementos que desconciertan al lector, pues la nueva información distorsiona sus primeras referencias sobre el asunto. Realizadas las comprobaciones pertinentes y contrastados los datos con otras fuentes más fidedignas, se llega a comprobar que el relato encontrado, aunque haya sido firmado por autores con los conocimientos adecuados y el respaldo de una elevada titulación, no responde a la realidad del hecho. Aunque nunca hay una sola verdad y la narrativa puede sufrir variaciones involuntarias, en la mayoría de las ocasiones las referencias y fuentes de todo tipo permiten ajustarlas, en gran medida, a la realidad pasada. No son pocas las ocasiones en las que, cuando esa realidad afecta a sucesos en los que la Guardia Civil resulta, para bien o para mal, ser la protagonista, los relatos difieren, y mucho, de cómo sucedieron los hechos. Como un ejemplo de referencia, hemos escogido un recuerdo de la historia del Cuerpo que, por las excepcionales circunstancias que concurrieron en él, ha generado abundante literatura de entre la que predomina, generalmente y por desgracia, la negativa. Nos proponemos pues, con las limitaciones que impone un artículo de investigación, estudiar la historiografía de los que se dieron en llamar "sucesos de Castilblanco".
Hate crimes are becoming a significant criminological issue and a priority in many political agendas. One of the biggest problems is the low reporting rate to police all over countries. This article presents results of an online victimization survey conducted by the Spanish National Office against Hate Crimes in 2020-21. The study aims to understand underreporting in the Spanish context, which may be also useful to guide strategies to combat hate crimes with similar characteristics. In this study, we firstly found that only 10% of the victims have reported their crime to the criminal justice system, being therefore around 90% the black figure or base Spanish underreporting rate in hate crimes. Besides, we analysed if there were significant differences between reporting and non-reporting victims in sociodemographic characteristics and specific questions of the survey. Significant differences in the likelihood of reporting have been discovered in the level of education, employment status, having been the victim of a hate crime in the last five years, the relationship between perpetrator and victim, and the seriousness of the crime. With the findings we may understand better hate crimes and lead to better policy strategies to combat intolerance in democratic countries. Los delitos de odio se est & aacute;n convirtiendo en un problema criminol & oacute;gico importante y una prioridad en muchas agendas pol & iacute;ticas. Uno de los mayores problemas es la baja tasa de denuncia a la polic & iacute;a en todos los pa & iacute;ses. Este art & iacute;culo presenta los resultados de una encuesta de victimizaci & oacute;n online realizada por la Oficina Nacional contra los Delitos de Odio de Espa & ntilde;a en 2020-21. El estudio busca comprender esta baja frecuencia de denuncias en el contexto espa & ntilde;ol, lo que tambi & eacute;n puede ser & uacute;til para orientar las estrategias de lucha contra los delitos de odio con caracter & iacute;sticas similares. En este estudio se observ & oacute;, en primer lugar, que solo el 10% de las v & iacute;ctimas han denunciado su delito ante el sistema de justicia penal, lo que representa alrededor del 90% de la frecuencia b & aacute;sica de denuncias en delitos de odio en Espa & ntilde;a. Adem & aacute;s, se analiz & oacute; si exist & iacute;an diferencias significativas entre las v & iacute;ctimas que denuncian y las que no denuncian en cuanto a las caracter & iacute;sticas sociodemogr & aacute;ficas y las preguntas espec & iacute;ficas de la encuesta. Se detectaron diferencias significativas en la probabilidad de denuncia en funci & oacute;n del nivel educativo, la situaci & oacute;n laboral, haber sido v & iacute;ctima de un delito de odio en los & uacute;ltimos cinco a & ntilde;os, la relaci & oacute;n entre el agresor y la v & iacute;ctima y la gravedad del delito. Ante estos resultados podemos comprender mejor los cr & iacute;menes de odio y elaborar mejores estrategias pol & iacute;ticas para combatir la intolerancia en los pa & iacute;ses democr & aacute;ticos.
This study analysed records of sexual offences committed by minor offenders through an examination of the criminological databases of the Spanish Civil Guard between 2015 and 2019. The characteristics of these offences, as well as the profiles of the offenders and their victims, were examined. The results revealed that 19% of these offences were committed by groups of minors. Both group offenders and those who acted alone were predominantly male, with an average age of approximately 15 years, and committed the offences under similar spatial and temporal conditions. Statistically significant differences emerged between the two groups in terms of the types of offences, the involvement of female accomplices, the criminal histories of the offenders, and the age distribution of the victims. This study sheds light on nuanced distinctions within the realm of juvenile sexual offences and underscores the importance of intervention and prevention strategies tailored to the specific characteristics of these offences.
Chemical submission associated with crimes of a sexual nature has experienced a surge in recent times. In addition to studying, it from a clinical and toxicological standpoint, this is a phenomenon that should also be addressed from a criminological and police investigation perspective. This paper, therefore, describes the main characteristics associated with these acts, along with the differences observed between the characteristics of perpetrators who act alone compared to those who act in collaboration with other people. The sample consisted of 121 cases analyzed correspond to solved sexual crimes featuring the use of substances as the means employed to commit the crime and that were investigated by the Civil Guard units between the years of 2008 and 2017. The results show differences in the profiles of the perpetrators depending on whether they acted alone or accompanied. Those aggressors who act in a group are younger, do not usually have a history of Gender-based Violence, and it is more common for them to have consumed alcohol or other drugs at the time of the events. On the other hand, the most explicit sexual behaviors being more common in the cases of perpetrators acting alone. This has important implications when it comes to conducting police investigations, as well as for the preventive aspects that can be rolled out once the contexts and people implicated in these types of events have been analyzed. From the behaviors observed, not only can distinguishing characteristics be inferred, but also motives that are not directly associated with sexual satisfaction on the part of the perpetrators.
Los cuerpos policiales enfrentan altos niveles de estrés emocional y psicológico debido a la exposición a incidentes críticos y factores organizativos, lo que incrementa el riesgo de ansiedad, depresión, trastorno por estrés postraumático y suicidio. La cultura policial, marcada por el estigma hacia la vulnerabilidad emocional, dificulta la búsqueda de ayuda profesional. Los programas de compañero de apoyo surgen como estrategia para facilitar el acceso a recursos de salud mental, ofreciendo apoyo emocional confidencial y actuando como enlace con profesionales sin asumir un rol clínico. Este estudio realiza una revisión narrativa de 11 programas internacionales y 5 guías institucionales, analizando funciones, selección, formación, confidencialidad, derivación profesional y resultados. Los programas revisados comparten características comunes: integración en los departamentos policiales, atención 24/7, intervención a demanda y tras incidentes críticos, énfasis en psicoeducación y prevención del suicidio, selección voluntaria basada en competencias interpersonales y formación inicial y continua. La confidencialidad y la derivación a profesionales de salud mental son pilares esenciales. Los resultados sugieren que el apoyo entre iguales reduce el estigma, mejora la alfabetización en salud mental, incrementa la disposición a buscar ayuda profesional y contribuye a la retención del personal, especialmente en mujeres. Sin embargo, la evidencia cuantitativa es limitada y se requieren más evaluaciones sistemáticas. La homogeneidad de estos programas sugiere su replicabilidad y plantea como línea futura la adaptación e implementación en España, donde actualmente no existen iniciativas similares, con el objetivo de comprobar su viabilidad, aceptación y posibles beneficios para el bienestar psicológico de los agentes.