They are neither guille nor furas, the specialized bodies of the Catalan police. They are a mixed group of motorized agents made up of Mossos d’Esquadra and the Local Police of Mataró (Maresme) whose actions draw a lot of attention by triggering the statistics of arrests and actions in the “hot areas” of the capital. Since February 1, they have made 80 arrests and 549 interventions of various kinds.
“We received a notice of an individual who is causing problems in the Rocafonda neighborhood.” Albert Boltas, the corporal coordinator of the community police of the basic police area (ABP) of Mossos de Mataró, addresses the motorized agents in the briefing prior to patrolling. The fact of moving with the motorcycles allows them to reach the place quickly and distribute the troops through the accesses until the offender is trapped, with no way out. He is a habitual drunk criminal, who has threatened the clients of a bar and who from the headquarters confirm that he has violated a restraining order, for which he is detained.
Two local police agents come to the place with two brand new and powerful electric motorcycles that have just been released, which contrast with those of the Mossos, much older, some from 2008. Precisely one of these machines has problems with the starter motor and the agent you have to push up a downhill street.
“At the moment they are motorcycles transferred from other police services,” says inspector Josep Maria Cavallé, head of the basic police area. “The official assignment has been requested, which is pending validation.” It is an outdated material that is still giving great performance. With what they have, they have set up two shifts with a minimum of three agents.
The motorized police officers, who have not yet been assigned their own callsign, in 135 days of patrolling have drawn up 488 intervention reports (drugs) and confiscated 61 bladed weapons and even Taser pistols. They have arrested 36 multi-recidivists with pending cases and 44 for public health crimes, breaches of sentence, violent robberies and even “batteries of house thieves traveling by train.” In some operations, the service is reinforced with members of the National Police, competent in immigration matters.
Although not all the credit is attributable to the mixed motorized patrols, it is no less true that since the beginning of the year activity at the police station has increased the number of identifications by 30%, the number of arrests by 15% and the number of complaints by 100%. by law 4/2015 (weapons and drugs).
“We headed for hot spots, high-intensity spaces where an increase in criminal activity is detected,” explains Boltas. For example, the Renfe station area, where they make selective identifications. They analyze the heat maps of reports of robberies and thefts, intensify patrols and interact with neighbors and merchants to directly influence the points of greatest conflict.
They have no name, no nickname. “We are a group of directed patrols” of volunteer agents, chosen “with a very defined profile” that among the neighbors is already known as “the scourge of thieves.” A pilot test that has caught the attention of the authorities and that could lower the crime rate in Mataró, which has exceeded 6,200 criminal offenses since the beginning of the year.
