| The Guardia Civil was the
first public security force to be created at a national level
in Spain. It was established right after the beginning of
reign of the Queen Elisabeth II and it was fostered by the
moderate government of Gonzalez Bravo in consensus with the
other political forces. They understood that the liberal Spanish
State needed a public security force to carry out their tasks
in all the inland Spanish territory in order to combat the
alarming lawlessness in the roads and lands of the country
due to the activities of bandits since the War of Independence.
The Force was established by means of
the of 28th March and 13th May 1844 Royal Decrees, setting
up a public security force of military nature, depending on
the Ministry of Interior for its operational activities and
on the Ministry of Defence in regards to its organisation,
discipline, personnel, equipment and salaries. Keeping a broad
organisational autonomy, this Force was centralised at the
General Headquarters (called Dirección General or Inspección
General depending on the period).
The Duke of Ahumada was appointed to organise
this new Institution. He was a close collaborator of General
Narvaez, a conservative and reputable military man, with a
deep knowledge of the Spanish reality and the "inheritor"
of the first security project with nation-wide scope designed
in 1824 by his father, the Marquis of Amarillas. He took as
a model the pattern set in France by the Gendarmerie and in
Catalonia by the existing Mossos de Escuadra. The Duke of
Ahumada personally shaped this new force, endowing it with
strict regulations and its famous Code of Practice (Cartilla).
This document established the character of the Guardia Civil:
strong discipline, sense of sacrifice, meritorious spirit
and loyalty. These features provided it with great effectiveness
when implementing the tasks entrusted to it. As a consequence,
the subsequent governments relied totally on it and the Force
was consolidated and later implemented in the overseas colonies
and from 1874 to 1940 it had the exclusive control of the
public order. Furthermore, its presence in all sort of humanitarian
operations, respect for honour and strictness when implementing
its services soon led it to earn the respect and admiration
of Spanish people. It was popularly referred to as "Benemérita"
(this title was officially adopted by means of the General
Order of 4th October, 1929).
The Duke of Ahumada planned the deployment
of the personnel in twelve inland regional commands (Tercios)
and an insular one (the Force was not represented in the Canary
Islands until July, 1898). The territorial enlargement took
place by phases, being the provincial level covered in 1846,
the district level in 1851 and the municipal level in the
Twentieth Century following the main communication lines.
Meanwhile, there was a gradual manpower increase, from 3,250
men in 1844 to over 19,000 by the turn of the century and
currently it consists of approximately 70,000 men and women.
The Post (puesto) is the smallest unit of the Guardia Civil
and it is followed in increasing order of size, by Lines (líneas),
Companies (compañías), Provincial Commands (Comandancias),
Regional Commads (Tercios) and Zones (Zonas), the latter being
included by the Order in Council of 20th May, 1926).
The service was under the command of civil
authorities, except in wartime or when the public order was
in jeopardy, in which cases it was governed by the Army authorities.
This dual dependence of the Guardia Civil was the reason of
jurisdiction conflicts since its very inception. The 1st July,
1871 amendment strengthened the military nature of the institution
and the Provincial Command was consolidated as the link between
the General Headquarters and the Posts, to the detriment of
the Regional Command. During the First Republic, there was
an attempt to change this dual dependence. Attempts were made
the Guardia Civil depend exclusively on the Ministry of Interior
(Form Letter 1 5-IV.1873), but this initiative failed upon
the arrival of the Restoration and the military administration
was reinforced which led the Guardia Civil to become a part
of the Army for the first time (Acts of 29-XI-1878, 19-VII-1889).
General Franco ratified this integration right after the end
of the Civil War (Act of 13-5-1940).
This character of permanent armed force
conferred on the Guardia Civil a wide autonomy in implementing
its tasks, but, on the other hand it also gave rise to an
abusive interpretation of the public order concept by the
political class in power during the Restoration. Due to this,
the prestige of the Guardia Civil, solidly established during
the Nineteenth Century, was seriously damaged, to the extent
that, in 1931, some left wing parties asked for its dissolution.
This did not happen, but during the Second Republic, the Guardia
Civil was split from the Ministry of Defence and was included
in the Ministry of Interior. At the beginning of the Civil
War, the Force was transformed into the National Republican
Guard (Decree 30-VIII-1936). After the civil struggle, the
Guardia Civil took over the functions of the Carabinieri Force
(Act of 15-3-1940), while the influence of the Army became
increasingly stronger with the establishment of the General
Staff. Under the auspices of the democracy, the Institution
was provided with new regulations according to the Constitution
(Basic Law for the Security Forces and Bodies of 2-1986).
The Force was created with the mission
of protecting "people and properties within and outside
urban settlements" and always assumed all tasks related
to public order protection. As its efficiency become apparent,
the Guardia Civil was increasingly assigned with more responsibilities;
functions as crime investigation police, customs police, public
assistance, rural protection (specifically assumed by means
of the 7th July, 1876 Act ) and military police. There has
been no campaign in Spain since 1844 in which the units of
the Guardia Civil did not take part, having sometimes a very
relevant role, as in the Civil War.
The service was carried out by the innovative
method of teams of two officers (parejas) as established in
its famous Code of Practice. These teams composed of two officers
were responsible for patrolling and monitoring the territory
under the jurisdiction of their Post through a comprehensive
knowledge of the land and its people. Since its very beginning
the Guardia Civil also carried out the policing of roads,
adapting its work to the changing times. Therefore, the massive
outpouring of cars onto Spanish roads required an organisational
action that led to the creation of the Traffic Grouping in
1959. This specialisation was the forerunner of many others
that the Guardia Civil currently has for the protection and
assistance to people and environment.
Throughout its long history, the Guardia
Civil has played an important role
in combatting general as
well as organised crime, obtaining in most cases remarkable
results. This is shown by the fact that they put an end to
the Nineteenth Century banditry, the "black hand"
anarchy, urban anarchy, the maquis phenomenon in post-war
times, as well as its remarkable success in fighting the independence
aimed terrorism of ETA, like, for example, the dismantling
of its leadership in the French town of Bidart. In addition
to this, the Guardia Civil currently renders important services
in peacekeeping missions in countries where the United Nations
Organisation enlists the Spanish presence.
After 150 years of existence, the Guardia
Civil is one of the most appreciated Spanish heritages, very
closely linked to the Spanish people, who have seen reflected
on the Guardia Civil most of their distinguishing marks. It
is also an Institution that intends to serve its citizens
adapting itself to the modernity of this new era, at the same
time that it is required to preserve the traditional virtues
that have distinguished its daily work during the last 150
years.
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