Spain is a typical example of a multiple Uncoordinated Centralised police force.

As in
almost all European Countries, policing is based on the principle of “Policing by law”.
The system is called Multiple Centralised uncoordinated force since, there is more than
one police force in the country, but at the top both these forces report to the same
authority. The authority of these forces overlaps in many places.

In conformity with the Constitution, the organic law on law enforcement bodies defines
the structure of public safety in Spain.

Under the Spanish constitution, public safety is the responsibility of the State alone and
national Government’s role to maintain security. Autonomous communities and local
corporations may participate through their own security forces in the law and order
maintenance and crime investigation functions of police. Spain has a National Police,
which is a civilian force and operates basically in urban areas. The Guardia Civil (Civil
Guard), which is a military force and operates mainly in rural areas. Local communities
have either units of police forces attached to their executives or their own police forces

Demographics/Geographical Information
Spain is a country in Europe that shares borders with Portugal, France, Andorra, and United
Kingdom (Gibraltar). It is also surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the Bay of Biscay, and the Balearic
and Mediterranean seas. Its land area covers 192,819 sq. miles and it is populated by 40,525,0020
people. Those 0-14 years old make up about 14.1% of the population and 16.5% of people on Spain
are 65 or older. The remaining 69.1% are between the ages of 15 and 64. [1] Its largest and capital
city is Madrid, populated by 5,130,000 people. Other large cities in Spain include Barcelona
(1,528,000), Valencia (741,000), and Seville (679,100). [2]
Spain is generally thought of as having a warm climate. It experiences heavy rainfalls along the
Atlantic coast, where it is usually cooler than in the rest of the country year round. Areas of Spain
inland experience colder winters and extremely hot summers. Warmer waters can be found in the
areas of the Mediterranean.[3]
Health and Education
The overall sex ratio in Spain as of 2006 was .96 male to female. [4] Life expectancy is 79 years for
men and 82 years for women. Spain has a 97% literacy rate for those at least 15 years old. [5] The
infant mortality rate is 4.21 for every 1,000 live births. [6]
Ethnic Groups/Religions
The official language of Spain is Spanish, with a variety of accents and dialects among the 50
provinces and 17 regions. Catalan is spoken in Catalonia, Balearic Islands, and the Valencia region;
Gallego is spoken in Galicia; and Basque is spoken in the Basque Country. [7] Catalans make up
about 16% of the population and generally live in the Northeast and on the eastern islands. Galicians
make up approximately 7% of the population and live in Northwestern Spain. Basques
and Gitanos (Gypsies) are other ethnic groups found in Spain. [8] The majority of Spaniards identify
themselves as Roman Catholic. Other religious groups include Jewish and Islamic. [9]
Economic Development
Spain's GDP in 2004 was $995 billion and the GDP per capita was approximately $22,421, with
agriculture making up 4% of the GDP and industry making up 17%. [10]
Brief History[edit | edit source]
Spain was ruled by many different groups and countries over time. Iberians settled in Spain around
4000 BC. Trading colonies were set up by Phoenicians, but after their fall Carthage took rule.
Romans took rule of the peninsula after the Punic wars. After the Muslims invaded the Strait of
Gibraltar, they took over most of the land for about 7 centuries until the Christians from the north
began pushing them out. In the 19th century, Spain was divided among conservatives and liberals
and experienced many changes in government. King Afonso XIII declared Spain a republic in 1931
until the Spanish Civil War that left Spain under the dictatorship of General Franco. Franco was
succeeded by King Juan Carlos after his death in 1975, and Spain became a Constitutional
Monarchy with a democratic government. [11]

Governance[edit | edit source]
Spain is a social democratic state that is governed under a Parliamentary Monarchy (Interpol
2009) [12]. The head of state is the hereditary monarch (the king) who holds the power to ratify laws,
dissolve the legislature, elect prime ministers and heads the armed forces. The king selects a prime
minister, head of government, who must then be approved by the legislature (Inforplease 2005) [13].
Spain has a 350 member National Assembly, "Las Cortes Generales", whom are elected by popular
vote. The Senate is comprised of 259 members; 208 members are directly elected while the
remaining 51 are appointed by legislators. Legislators in Spain serve four year terms (Info please
2005)[14]. Each of the 17 regions and the 2 autonomous cities have their own parliament and regional
government [15]. The current king of Spain is Juan Carlos I, and the prime minister or President of
Government is Jose Luiz Rodriquez Zapatero (Wikipedia 2010) [16]. The Spanish constitution became
the supreme law of the legal system in 1978. Spain has 3 levels of government: Central,
Autonomous Communities, and Municipal governments. Specific rights and guidelines are outlined
in the Constitution (NYU Globalex 2010) [17]. Spain has a civil law legal system that contains civil,
criminal, and commercial codes (NYU Globalex 2010) [18].

Judicial Review[edit | edit source]

The Supreme Court of Spain has full jurisdiction and is the highest of the courts except in cases
involving questions of the constitution, in which the Constitutional Court has jurisdiction. Judges are
guided by the constitution and have a responsibility to rule based on written law and treaties. Interpol
describes the individual courts of Spain, "The General Council of the Judicial Power is the
independent Government body responsible for the judicial power and has jurisdiction over the whole
country. It is, however, the Government body responsible for all the courts which make up the
Judicial Power. Subordinate to it are the Government Chambers of the Supreme Court, the National
High Court (Audiencia Nacional), the High Courts of Justice, and the other jurisdictional bodies with
government attributions in their respective areas (Presidents of the Courts, senior judges,
committees of judges, and judges) (Interpol 2009) [19]."

Policing is one of the most important of the functions undertaken by the every sovereign government. For
the state machinery, police is an inevitable organ which would ensure maintenance of law and order, and
also the first link in the criminal justice system.