A total of 61 officers from the 55th promotion of the Andalusian Local Police will join 21 municipalities in the province of Seville, as announced by the Junta de Andalucía. The closing ceremony of the course, held in Seville, was presided over by Vice President Antonio Sanz.
The province of Seville will welcome 61 of the 80 new local police officers who have completed their training at the Institute of Emergencies and Public Safety of Andalusia (IESPA). The officers, belonging to the 55th promotion, will be distributed across 21 municipalities in Seville, while another 13 will go to Huelva and six to Cádiz.
Reinforcement in 21 Seville municipalities
The 61 officers will be spread across localities in the province, although the Junta has not detailed the specific list of destinations. The measure aims to address staffing shortages in towns that, in many cases, have fewer than ten officers. The First Vice President and Minister of the Presidency, Health and Emergencies, Antonio Sanz, presided over the closing ceremony held in Seville.
Sanz highlighted that the Local Police is "the closest face of the State" and praised their work in emergency situations, such as the recent fire in Los Gallardos (Almería), where they assisted in evacuations. The minister emphasized that these new officers "are much more than a figure in uniform" and defended their role as a element of social cohesion.
Over 2,200 officers trained in six years
The Junta has reported that more than 2,200 new local police officers have been trained at the IESPA since 2020, and that over 1,200 candidates have passed through its classrooms since October 2022. The decentralization strategy, with locations in Seville, Córdoba and Linares, has made training more accessible to candidates across Andalusia.
Currently, Andalusia has around 11,000 local police officers distributed across 505 municipalities, a figure that Sanz has described as "insufficient" for a community of more than 8.5 million inhabitants. The minister insisted on the need to continue promoting new cohorts and to strengthen municipal staffing with broader and more specialized training.
Modernisation of local forces
During the event, Sanz reviewed the measures implemented to modernize the Andalusian local police, including the Law on Local Police of Andalusia and the decree regulating entry, promotion, mobility and training. Among the changes are the elimination of the minimum height requirement in selection processes, unified calls, updates to physical tests, and improvements in initial training.
The minister concluded his remarks by encouraging the new officers to carry out their duties with "vocation, commitment, proximity and responsibility". The event was also attended by officials from the IESPA, the Ministry and the delegations of the Andalusian Government in Seville and Cádiz, as well as the chief commissioner of the National Police Unit assigned to the Autonomous Community of Andalusia.
For the residents of the Seville municipalities receiving these officers, their incorporation represents a reinforcement of proximity security, with more personnel on the streets and a quicker response to everyday incidents. The Junta expects the new police officers to begin serving in the coming weeks, once the administrative procedures are completed.
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