Моссос д’Эсквадра: История и современность каталонской полиции

Autonomous police force of Catalonia

The Mossos d'Esquadra (; ), also known as the Policia de la Generalitat de Catalunya and informally as Mossos, is the autonomous police force in the Spanish autonomous community of Catalonia. They trace their origins back to squads formed in 1719.

On 21 July 1950 the Deputation of Barcelona was authorised to create a small security force using the historical title Mossos d'Esquadra. These new Mossos were a militarized corps having little similarity to the earlier incarnations, with limited powers and small numbers, which was in charge of protecting the government buildings of the Province of Barcelona. With the return of democracy to Spain, the Mossos d'Esquadra grew in number and powers. Since 25 October 1980 the force has been under the authority of the Generalitat de Catalunya (the Government of Catalonia).

The Escuadras de Paisanos, later known as the Esquadres de Catalunya, (and informally known as the Mossos d'Esquadra), were men at arms who had fought as irregulars in the War of the Spanish Succession, and were brought together by the mayor of the town of Valls near Tarragona between 1719 and 1721. The corps was constituted as a militia to provide security to trade routes and fairs. It was created as a complement to the regular troops of the Bourbon army, which opposed the Miquelets, who survived as rebel supporters of Archduke Charles. It was manned by local people, who had to speak Catalan and be familiar with the paths, caves and hiding places in the area. It was eventually placed under military jurisdiction but was less centralised than the Spanish police force (then known as the 'Intendencia General de Policía') formed in 1817, or the yet to be established 'Guardia Civil', both of which were systematically deployed away from their home regions, and thus strangers to the places where they served. Throughout the centuries it has passed back and forth from Catalan authority to Spanish military command several times. They were dissolved in 1868 by General Prim after the fall of Queen Isabella II of Spain, since the Mossos had always been royalists. They were reinstated in 1876 under the reign of Isabella's son king Alfonso XII of Spain, but only in the province of Barcelona. Under his son Alfonso XIII of Spain, the Mossos were not well regarded in Catalonia, especially by the Commonwealth of Catalonia, who paid them but had no control over them. They flourished, though, under Primo de Rivera's dictatorship. When the Second Spanish Republic was proclaimed, however, the Mossos sided with the Generalitat de Catalunya. After the Spanish Civil War, the last Mossos left Catalonia with the President of the Generalitat, and the corps was dissolved by the Francoist authorities.

Special intervention group (GEI) in Catalan: Grup Especial d'Intervenció. The Special Intervention Groups AGEI (or simply GEI) is a Mossos d'Esquadra body specialized in interventions with a high risk of armed violence (such as terrorist detention, rescues of hostages, VIP protection, etc.). This group is under the command of the Intervention Division. In the USA the equivalent to this type of police is SWAT. This group was created in 1984 with the collaboration of Spezialeinsatzkommando (SEK) of Germany. It was kept secret in anticipation of the security challenges that would be posed with the holding of the Barcelona Olympic Games in 1992. In addition, the second reason for its creation was the transfer of responsibility for the prisons to the Generalitat de Catalonia that made it necessary to have a protocol to deal with riots and / or hostage taking. Later the GEI worked with the Special Operations Group (GEO) of the National Police Corps in 1991, which advised on various matters. Becoming part of this force is not at all easy and it is necessary to pass a selection process that lasts one whole year: Up to 350 candidates applied to the intake in 2009, but only 11 were selected as suitable. The first phase, of a physical nature, consists of several tests of strength and resistance, medical and psychotechnical; It was then passed by 42 agents. The difficult phase of adaptation consists in an intense multidisciplinary training in which for 30 days the candidates are in isolation and suffer hard tests of physical resistance and sacrifice, in conditions of great hunger, sleep, cold and stress: Aspiring candidates have to overcome situations of high risk (such as throwing themselves into a void, carrying out a bridge jump without hesitation or screaming or showing fear, ), vertigo situations, claustrophobia, a melée (although failure of this stage does not automatically mean elimination), thinking exercises during exhaustion (solving a puzzle after hours without sleep), etc. Out of the 2009 intake this phase was passed by 11 candidates. Then comes a third phase of training, of 750 hours (which actually ends up at more than 1000), to be carried out during the following six months. Finally the fourth and final phase is the period of practice, in which the aspirants are already integrated into the activities of the AGEI, which lasts for three months, which was only surpassed by 9 agents (2.6% of the total). Currently approximately 400 agents are formed, all that is related to this area is secret.

The Mossos have several vehicles, for both patrol and undercover operations. These vehicles are high powered SUVs, vans, motorbikes and 4x4 vehicles. They also have helicopters and drones for aerial operations.