Pozuelo stays calm on security despite police training row

Pozuelo, insulated from the policing debate

The viral spread of a police training video has peine an unexpected front in Pozuelo de Alarcón, one of Spain's wealthiest municipalities. The footage, showing officers running shooting drills against a simulated knife attacker, has drawn criticism for poor accuracy and recoil technique. According to the analysis, 95% of the shots land outside the silhouette from an initial distance of just two metres, calling into question their readiness for real-life situations.

The debate quickly shifts to the municipality's socioeconomic profile. The argument goes that, despite the training shortcomings, the low incidence of violent crime in Pozuelo, Majadahonda and Las Rozas – the high-income triangle west of Madrid – keeps the sense of security intact. Some voices point to a smaller presence of certain migrant groups as a factor, though without any data to back up the correlation.

What is clear is that the filmed exercise reveals a structural problem: shooting practice is the least trained activity in many police units. And the paradox is that, with that level of skill, residents of these municipalities can feel at ease only because the context never demands otherwise.

A final note: the discussion mentions that if this triangle of municipalities were to fall, Spain would fall with it. A hyperbole that illustrates just how much the perceived security of these areas is regarded as a pillar of the metropolitan order.