What does this mean for visitors to Playa del Inglés and Maspalomas?
Only two local police officers were rostered for all of San Bartolomé de Tirajana on Friday afternoon, 6 November, according to the unions. The unions CSIF and STAP Canarias add that a third officer stayed in the police station.
The unions say the problem was reaching the Policía Local (local police) on 092. Many calls went unanswered.
In an emergency, 112 still applies, though this advice does not come from the unions. It is not known whether the Policía Nacional (state police) was on duty that evening.
What happened on the evening of 6 November?
Two events ran at the same time: one at the Yumbo Centrum in Playa del Inglés, the other in El Tablero with more than 6,000 people. The unions estimate more than 12,000 visitors in total, but do not say which events these were.
From 16:00, two more officers reinforced the shift, and the unions say they volunteered on their days off. The safety of thousands must not depend on “five or six police officers working miracles”, CSIF and STAP write.
In San Fernando, two vehicles collided and the drivers argued. One driver fled and was caught by a patrol, and despite signs of drinking refused the alcohol test, the unions say.
Almost at the same time in El Tablero, a vehicle ran over a minor, who was left trapped underneath. Police had to respond urgently, and how the child is doing is not known.
How many posts are vacant in the Policía Local?
According to the unions, more than 100 Policía Local posts are vacant. A selection process for 32 posts has been running for about three years and is still not finished.
CSIF and STAP estimate that the vacancies save the municipality around 4 million euros a year in staff costs. They demand that this money go into safety.
They also say overtime for special operations has not been paid since June. Why the municipality is not paying is not known.
The BOE (Spain’s official state gazette) published the selection process on 11 October 2023. It covered 32 Agente posts.
Who normally secures large events in Maspalomas?
At the 2024 Maspalomas Carnival, the Policía Nacional deployed more than 300 officers alongside the Policía Local. The CIMACC 091 operations centre coordinated with the control rooms of the local police and the 112 emergency service.
The municipality owns the Policía Local, while the state pays for the Policía Nacional. For large events, the two forces normally agree security plans with the 112 service.
Reports put the Winter Pride 2025 march at around 40,000 people. The Policía Local spoke of calm and coexistence at the time, but gave no deployment figures.
What is still open, and what happens next?
The municipal government, the councillor for security and police management have not made a statement. The unions want to know who planned the week’s shifts and why so few regular officers were on duty.
Whether CSIF and STAP will back their claims with duty rosters is open. The organisers and the exact events are also not named.
The unions plan to meet their members in the week beginning 9 November and discuss further measures. They gave no exact date, and no timetable for filling the 32 posts is known either.
On 24 June, CSIF and STAP had already denounced shortcomings in the Policía Local’s occupational safety. The risk assessment listed more than 50 deficiencies, several of them top priority.