Ceuta, Spain: police accused of abandoning residents — who do they answer to?

Ceuta police accused of abandoning the population

Discontent in Ceuta, the Spanish enclave in North Africa, has taken a new turn: the security forces stand accused of no longer protecting the population. The criticism is circulating alongside a complaint with a mercenary undertone: who does the police officer who fails to show up when you need them actually answer to? Because while a few spoiled sandwiches mobilize the forensic police, the burglarized neighborhood cannot find a single officer.

Priorities that don't match the payroll

The comparison is as simple as it is damning. Hand in a spoiled sandwich: the forensics team shows up. The neighborhood gets ransacked: no officers available. From there it is a short step to talk of "mercenaries," and the argument points to the wallet: the taxpayer is not the one who owns the police payroll — the one who signs the decrees is. "Electoral engineering" closes the circle: a dog doesn't vote, but the newcomer does, and protection is handed out according to the next electoral roll, not the resident who is already there.

The pandemic, the DANA floods and guns at home

The memory of the 8 p.m. applause and the DANA floods, when officers withdrew as night fell, feeds the suspicion that orders weigh more than need. As for the alternative of defending yourself, the answer is blunt: "the one who has a real gun isn't going to leave it to you; he's going to point it at you."

The discontent hangs in the air. There is no consensus on whether it is deliberate abandonment or simple disorganization, but trust in Ceuta's police — the ones paid for with taxes — keeps eroding.