Civil Guard (Spain)
Template:Short description Template:Redirect Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox law enforcement agency
The Civil Guard (Template:Langx; Template:IPA) is one of the two national law enforcement agencies of Spain (the other being the National Police). As a national gendarmerie, 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.<ref name="Paradox">Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The role of the Ministry of Defence is limited except in times of war when the Ministry has exclusive authority.<ref name="Paradox"/><ref name="Legislation">Template:Cite web</ref> The corps is colloquially known as the Template:Wikt-lang (the meritorious or the reputables). 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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
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.<ref name="Paradox"/>
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 Template:Lang, which are both minor residential garrisons and fully-equipped police stations.
History
Origin
The Template:Lang was founded as a national police force in 1844 during the reign of Queen Isabel II of Spain by the 2nd Duke of Ahumada and 5th Marquess of Amarillas, an 11th generation descendant of Aztec emperor Moctezuma II. Previously, law enforcement had been the responsibility of the "Holy Brotherhood", an organization of municipal leagues. Corruption was pervasive in the Brotherhood, where officials were constantly subject to local political influence, and the system was largely ineffective outside the major towns and cities.<ref name="deR">de Rementeria y Fica, Mariano, Manual of the Baratero (transl. and annot. by James Loriega), Boulder, Colorado: Paladin Press, Template:ISBN (2005)</ref> Criminals could often escape justice by simply moving from one district to another.<ref name="deR"/> The first Template:Lang police academy was established in the town of Valdemoro, south of Madrid, in 1855. Graduates were given the Guardia's now famous tricorne or Cavaliers hat as part of their duty dress uniform.Template:Citation needed
The Template:Lang was initially charged with putting an end to brigandage on the nation's highways, particularly in Andalusia, which had become notorious for numerous robberies and holdups of businessmen, peddlers, travelers, and even foreign tourists.<ref>Quevedo, A. and Sidro, J., La Guardia Civil: La Historia de esta Institución, Madrid (1858)</ref><ref>de la Iglesia, Eugenio, Reseña Histórica de la Guardia Civil, Madrid (1898)</ref><ref>Driessen, Henk Driessen, The ‘Noble Bandit’ and the Bandits of the Nobles: Brigandage and Local Community in Nineteenth-century Andalusia, European Journal of Sociology 24, (1983), pp. 96-114</ref> Banditry in this region was so endemic that the Template:Lang found it difficult to eradicate it completely. As late as 1884, one traveler of the day reported that it still existed in and around the city of Málaga:<ref name="SCO">Scott, Samuel P., Through Spain: A Narrative of Travel and Adventure in the Peninsula, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: J. B. Lippincott & Co. (1886), pp. 130–131</ref>
The favorite and original method of the Malagueño highwayman is to creep up quietly behind his victim, muffle his head and arms in a cloak, and then relieve him of his valuables. Should he resist, he is instantly disembowelled with the dexterous thrust of a knife...[The Spanish highwayman] wears a profusion of amulets and charms...all of undoubted efficacy against the dagger of an adversary or the rifle of a Civil Guard.<ref name="SCO"/>
The Template:Lang was also given the political task of restoring and maintaining land ownership and servitude among the peasantry of Spain by the King, who desired to stop the spread of anti-monarchist movements inspired by the French Revolution. The end of the First Carlist War combined with the unequal distribution of land that resulted from prime minister Juan Álvarez Mendizábal's first Desamortización (1836–1837) had left the Spanish landscape scarred by the destruction of civil war and social unrest, and the government was forced to take drastic action to suppress spontaneous revolts by a restive peasantry. Based on the model of light infantry used by Napoléon in his European campaigns, the Template:Lang was transformed into a military force of high mobility that could be deployed irrespective of inhospitable conditions, able to patrol and pacify large areas of the countryside. Its members, called 'Template:Lang', maintain to this day a basic patrol unit formed by two agents, usually called a "Template:Lang" (a pair), in which one of the 'Template:Lang' will initiate the intervention while the second 'Template:Lang' serves as a backup to the first.Template:Citation needed
Under the pre-1931 monarchy, relations between Template:Lang and the Civil Guard were particularly tense.Template:Citation needed
The Civil War (1936–1939)
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During the Spanish Civil War, the Template:Lang forces split almost evenly between those who remained loyal to the Republic, 53% of the members<ref>Template:Citation</ref> (which changed their name to Template:Lang – "Republican National Guard")<ref>Template:Citation</ref> and the rebel forces.<ref name="COLODNY">The International Bridgades Template:Webarchive – Colodny, Robert G. Accessed 2008-05-12.</ref> However, the highest authority of the corps, Inspector General Sebastián Pozas, remained loyal to the republican government.<ref name=INDE>Hugh Thomas (1976); Historia de la Guerra Civil Española, Ed. Grijalbo, p. 254</ref> Their contribution to the Republican war efforts were invaluable, but proved effective on both sides in urban combat.Template:Citation needed
The proportion of Template:Lang members that supported the rebel faction at the time of the 1936 coup was relatively high compared to other Spanish police corps such as the Template:Lang and the Carabineros (Template:Lang), where when the Civil War began over 70% of their members stayed loyal to the Spanish Republic.<ref name="RSL">Ramón Salas Larrazábal (2001); Historia del Ejército Popular de la República, Volumen I. De los comienzos de la guerra al fracaso del ataque sobre Madrid, pp. 58-60</ref>
Loyalist General of the Template:Lang José Aranguren, commander of the 4th Organic Division and Military Governor of Valencia, was arrested by the victorious Francoist troops when they entered the city of Valencia at the end of March 1939. After being court-martialed, Aranguren was given the death penalty and was executed on 22 April in the same year.<ref name=RSL/>
Colonial service
Locally recruited units of the Template:Lang were employed in Spain's overseas territories. These included three Template:Lang (regiments) in the Philippines and two companies in Puerto Rico prior to 1898.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Over six thousand Civil Guards, both indigenous and Spanish, were serving in Cuba in 1885 and smaller units were subsequently raised in Ifni and Spanish Guinea.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
During Francoist era (1939–1975) and attempted coup d'état 1981
Following the Civil War, under the dictatorship of General Francisco Franco (1939–1975), the Template:Lang was reinforced with the members of the Carabineros, the "Royal Corps of Coast and Frontier Carabiniers", following the disbandment of the carabinier corps.<ref>Template:Citation</ref>
Critics of the Template:Lang have alleged numerous instances of police brutality because of the organisation's association with Franco's regime. The fact that the Template:Lang largely operated in mostly rural and isolated parts of the country increased the risk of police violations of individual civil rights through lack of supervision and accountability.Template:Citation needed García Lorca's poems have contributed to the Template:Lang's reputation as, at least at the time, a heavy-handed police force.
The involvement of Template:Lang figures in politics continued right up until the end of the twentieth century: on 23 February 1981, Lt. Col. Antonio Tejero Molina, a member of the Template:Lang, participated with other military forces in the failed 23-F coup d'état. Along with 200 members of the Template:Lang, he briefly took hold of the lower house of the Template:Lang before the coup collapsed following a nationally televised address by King Juan Carlos, who denounced the coup.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>Template:Citation needed
Modern force
The Template:Lang as a police force, has had additional tasks given to it in addition to its traditional role. Certain of these tasks are not delegated to the Civil Guard (as well as to the National Police) in certain Autonomous Communities, as some have their own autonomous police force, under the rule of their respective autonomous government. Forces like the Mossos d'Esquadra or the Ertzaintza carry out the duties of the Civil Guard there, such as highway patrol or law enforcement in rural areas.
It is the largest police force in Spain, in terms of area served. Today, they are primarily responsible for policing and/or safety regarding the following (but not limited to) areas and/or safety related issues (given in no special order):<ref name="Legislation"/>
- law enforcement in all Spanish territory, excluding cities above 20,000 inhabitants,
- highway patrol,
- protection of the King of Spain and other members of the Spanish Royal Family,
- military police as part of military deployments overseas
- counter drugs operations,
- anti-smuggling operations,
- customs and ports of entry control,
- airport security,
- safety of prisons and safeguarding of prisoners,
- weapons licenses and arms control,
- security of border areas,
- bomb squad and explosives (TEDAX),
- high risk and special operations unit (UEI),
- coast guard,
- police deployments abroad (embassies),
- intelligence, counterterrorism and counter-intelligence gathering (SIGC),
- diving unit (GEAS),
- cyber and internet crime,
- mountain search and rescue (GREIM),
- hunting permits and environmental law enforcement (SEPRONA).
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Peacekeeping and other operations
The Template:Lang has been involved in operations as peacekeepers in United Nations sponsored operations, including operations in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Angola, Congo, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Haiti, East Timor and El Salvador. They also served with the Spanish armed forces contingent in the war in Iraq, mainly as military police but also in intelligence gathering, where seven of its members were killed.Template:Citation needed
In the Afghan war effort the rapid reaction branch of the Template:Lang; the Template:Lang (GAR) were deployed to the Kabul area in 2002 shortly after the invasion and served as the protective team for the High Representative of the European Union. They maintained their services until 2008. In that period, the Template:Lang (Traffic Group), Template:Lang (Customs and Revenue Service), Template:Lang (Judicial Police), and Template:Lang (Public Order and Prevention service) have also had their deployments to Afghanistan for the peacekeeping efforts.<ref name=autogenerated2>Template:Cite web</ref>
After 2009, the mission of the Civil Guards in Afghanistan shifted focus to training up local security forces in the country. In that period, the counter-terrorism branch of the Template:Lang; the Template:Lang (UAR) were deployed to Afghanistan to train the Afghan National Police<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> as part of ISAF's Police Advisor Team (PAT) formerly the Police Operative Mentoring and Liaison Team (POMLT) <ref name=autogenerated2 />
In addition to Template:Lang ("the armed institution"), the Template:Lang is known as Template:Lang ("the well-remembered"). They served in the Spanish colonies, including Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Philippines, Spanish Guinea and Spanish Morocco.Template:Citation needed
The Template:Lang has a sister force in Costa Rica also called the Template:Lang. The Costa Rican 'guardias' often train at the same academy as regular Spanish officers.Template:Citation needed
During the Iraqi Civil War, the GAR have been deployed to Iraq to train and assist Iraqi federal police in the fight against ISIS militants.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Characteristics
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- Members of the Guardia typically patrol in pairs.
- Members of the Guardia Civil often live in garrisons (Template:Lang) with their families.
- Since the Guardia Civil must accommodate the families of its "guardias", it was the first police force in Europe that accommodated a same-sex partner in a military installation.
- The symbol of the Guardia Civil consists of the Royal Crown of Spain, a sword and a fasces. The different units have variations of this symbol.
- The sidearm of the Guardia Civil from the 1970s to the early 1990s was the Star Model BM chambered in 9mm until its replacement with the Beretta 92, and in recent years the Beretta has been replaced with the H&K USP.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Traditions
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Hymn
The first hymn was composed between 1915 and 1916 by Asunción García Sierra (who wrote the lyrics) and Ildefonso Moreno Carrilllo (who composed the music) as a school hymn. In the 1920s, Lieutenant Colonel José Osuna Pineda was assigned to the center as Head of Studies and arranged the original text and melody. This hymn was that of the College of Young Guardsmen, adopted as the school's alma mater march since December 1922. Despite the absence of any legal provision, the hymn became official upon its use.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Motto
The motto of the Civil Guard is "Honor is my badge".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It comes from article 1 of the "Cartilla del Guardia Civil", written by the Duke of Ahumada in 1845. The full text says: "Honor is the main badge of the Civil Guard; it must, therefore, be kept spotless. Once lost, it is never recovered".Template:Sfn
Music Unit
The Music Unit of the Civil Guard (Template:Langx) is the military band of the Civil Guard and is one of multiple in the Armed Forces. It is officially part of the guard's General Directorate. Since its creation in 1844, it has had musical infantry and cavalry formations through various ranks. Only the Civil Guard and the Royal Guard, as well as many Army cavalry and artillery units retained mounted bands with cavalry trumpeters at the time while the infantry of both the Army and Civil Guard had bugle bands then (formerly corps of drums composed of drummers and fifers). It was not until 19 November 1859 when a unified band appeared for the first time. Other bands would be formed throughout the years in both Madrid and Valdemoro. In 1940, the first squads of Civil Guard musicians were officially approved and applications to join the official Civil Guard band were released in October 1941. In 1949, and as a consequence of the merger of the Carabineros Corps and the Civil Guard, their respective Music bands were also unified.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> These templates remained that way for over two decades when they were increased to adapt them to those of Army Music, forming two bands: one with 75 musicians attached to the General Directorate of the Corps and with 50 instrumentalists belonging to the Jefatura de Enseñanza. More recently, according to the resolutions of 28 June 2004 and 14 February 2006, the two music units were unified, constituting the current band which reports to the General Subdirectorate of Personnel and is administratively attached to the General Affairs Service.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
A small mounted band is in service with the Security Group's Civil Guard Cavalry Squadron, with its barracks and stables in Valdemoro, administratively under the supervision of the Young Guardsmen's College. Unlike other mounted bands, they only use small fanfare trumpets (Template:Lang and Template:Lang). They continue the traditions of the Civil Guard cavalry since its foundation. In 2022 the Mounted Band of the Civil Guard Cavalry Squadron finally received its own kettledrummer, bringing it in line with the Royal Guard's Mounted Band of the Royal Escort Squadron.
Tricorn
The element of uniformity that characterizes the Civil Guard is the tricorn, which is the official service's headgear in full and service dress uniforms. Other pieces of headgear such as peaked caps, berets or garrison caps are currently used in addition to this one. Throughout its history, other headwear of various types, colors and shapes have been used, including the Teresiana Kepi. Officially, it is known by the Civil Guard as the "black hat".
Patronage
On 8 February 1913, Our Lady of the Pillar was declared by royal decree as the guard's exalted patron saint.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Uniforms
A wide range of clothing is currently worn according to the nature of the duties being performed (see schematic diagrams below).
Template:AnchorThe traditional headdress of the Template:Lang is the Template:Lang hat, originally a tricorne. Its use now is reserved for ceremonial parades and duty outside public buildings, together with the army-style tunic and trousers previously worn. For other occasions a cap or a beret is worn.<ref>Template:Citation</ref>
The historic blue, white and red uniform of the Template:Lang is now retained only for the Civil Guard Company of the Royal Guard and the Template:Lang (parade markers) of the Civil Guard Academy.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
A modernised new style of working uniform was announced for the Civil Guard in 2011, for general adoption during 2012. This comprises a green baseball cap, polo shirt and cargo pants. The kepi-like "Template:Lang" was abolished.Template:Citation needed
| Uniforms of the Civil Guard | |||||||
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Road waistcoat |
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Motorcyclist ATGC |
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Coverralls |
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Summer |
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Winter |
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Rescue |
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Diver |
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Military Police |
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Historic |
| Uniforms of the Civil Guard 1989–2012 | |||
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Winter |
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Summer |
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Road waistcoat |
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Ranks and insignia
Organization and specialities
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The Corps has been organised into different specialties divided into operational and support specialties:<ref>Template:Citation</ref>
- File:Coat of Arms of the Guardia Civil's Rural Action Unit.svg UAR (Template:Lang) – The rural tactical service branch of the Template:Lang
- File:Service Badge of the Guardia Civil Public Order and Prevention Service.svg Template:Lang – Public Order and Prevention service, which makes up the bulk of the Template:Lang
- File:Service Badge of the Guardia Civil Group of Underwater Activities.svg GEAS (Template:Lang) – Divers
- File:Coat of Arms of the Guardia Civil Mountain and Speleology Rescue Service.svg GTRIM Grupos de Rescate e Intervención en Montaña
- File:Service Badge of the Guardia Civil Reserve and Security Grouping.svg GRS (Template:Lang) – Security Group, involved in Riot control and includes personnel of the Civil Guard Cavalry Squadron
- File:Service Badge of the Guardia Civil Naval Service.svg SEMAR (Template:Lang) – Template:Langs Naval Service, tasked with seashore surveillance and fisheries inspections
- File:Service Badge of the Guardia Civil Nature Protection Service.svg SEPRONA (Template:Lang) – Nature Protection Service, for environmental protection
- File:Service Badge of the Guardia Civil Air Service.svg SAER (Template:Lang) – Template:Lang Air Service
- File:Service Badge of the Guardia Civil Canine Service.svg Template:Lang – K-9 Unit, for Drugs and explosives detection and people finding
- File:Service Badge of the Guardia Civil Mountain and Speleology Rescue Service.svg GREIM (Template:Lang) – Mountain and Speleology Rescue
- File:Service Badge of the Guardia Civil Fiscal Service.svg Template:Lang – Customs and Revenue Service
- File:Service Badge of the Guardia Civil Intelligence Service.svg SIGC (Template:Lang) – Intelligence Service
- File:Service Badge of the Guardia Civil Explosive Artifacts Defuser and CBRN Defense Service.svg TEDAX (Template:Lang) – lit, Explosive Artifacts Defuser Specialised Technicians (EOD)
- File:Service Badge of the Guardia Civil Traffic Grouping.svg Template:Lang – Traffic Group, The Template:Lang Highway Patrol unit, tasked with the control of highways and trunk roads
- File:Service Badge of the Guardia Civil Rapid Reaction Group.svg GAR (Template:Lang) – Rapid Reaction Group. Special antiterrorist unit, operating within all of Spain and participating in some foreign missions
- File:Service Badge of the Guardia Civil Judiciary Police Service.svg UCO (Template:Lang) – Central Operative Unit, a branch of the Policía Judicial focused on complex or nationwide investigations
- File:Service Badge of the Guardia Civil Special Intervention Unit.svg UEI (Template:Lang) – Special Intervention Unit
- ODAIFI (Template:Lang) – investigation for prosecution of criminal offenses, notably detection of contraband (notably money, drugs, stolen objects and CITES) at points of entry to Spain.
- USESIC (Template:Lang, citizen security units of command centres) Elite forces attached to some regional headquartersTemplate:Citation needed
Requirements
- Spanish citizenship
- Good standard or native Spanish language ability
- Cadets at sixteen and adult service between eighteen and thirty-one years old.
- More than Template:Convert tall (men) and Template:Convert (women)
- Having obtained Compulsory Secondary Education (ESO)
- No record of chronic illness and general good health.
- Ability to swim
Equipment
Template:More citations needed section
Firearms
| Weapon | Origin | Type |
|---|---|---|
| EMTAN Ramon | Template:Flag | Standard issue <ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| Heckler & Koch USP Compact | Template:Flag | Standard issue<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| Beretta 92 | Template:Flag | Being phased out for H&K USP Compact and EMTAN Ramon |
| Heckler & Koch MP5 | Template:Flag | Standard issue submachine gun |
| EMTAN MZ-4P | Template:Flag | In 5.56×45mm version <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| Heckler & Koch G36 | Template:Flag | In use |
| Heckler & Koch HK33 | ||
| SIG Sauer MCX Rattler | Template:Flag | 15 units chambered in 300 AAC Blackout purchased in 2023 |
| CETME rifle | Template:Flag | |
| SIG SG 553 | Template:Flag |
Aircraft
Helicopters
Training of other forces
The Guardia Civil has some training and supervision responsibilities for essentially private security services with similar names:<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Guardas Rurales (country estates and nature reserves)
- Guardas de Caza (hunting grounds and game reserves)
- Guardapescas Marítimos (fish farms and shellfish reserves)
The Guàrdia Urbana de Barcelona is not part of the Guardia Civil.
See also
- Emblems of the Spanish Civil Guard
- Civil Guard (disambiguation)
- Guardia de Asalto
- Policía Armada
- Policía Nacional
- Republican National Guard (Portugal)
- Civil Guard (Philippines)
- "Spanish Bombs" by The Clash, references the Spanish Civil War.
- Operation Anubis
- de la Iglesia, Eugenio, Template:Lang, Madrid (1898)
Notes
References
Bibliography
External links
- Official web page
- Spanish police forces forum The most complete forum about different Spanish police forces.
- Seproneros – SEPRONA members unofficial web page
- Civil Guards members not Official web
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- Pages with broken file links
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- Civil Guard (Spain)
- National police forces
- Gendarmerie
- Road law enforcement agencies
- Border guards
- Coast guards
- Military of Spain
- National law enforcement agencies of Spain
- 1844 establishments in Spain
- Political organizations established in 1844
- Government agencies established in the 1840s