COSTA ALMERIA NEWS: New force keeping an eye out for anti-social behaviour coming to Albox streets

A NEW force of civic officers to keep an eye out for anti-social behaviour is set to be introduced in Albox in the coming months.
Uniformed personnel will be patrolling the streets of the town, their job to promote and guarantee peaceful coexistence among residents and to prevent conflicts and unsocial actions.
The presence of civic officers is already fairly common in other parts of Spain, but is still a novelty in Almeria province.
“I think we are the pioneers in introducing it”, commented Albox Mayor Francisco Torrecillas on the local authority’s decision to create the force in the municipality.
The council has now published on its website information regarding the selection and employment of the new agents, with the criteria candidates for the jobs must meet and details of what they would be expected to do.
Hopefuls must be of Spanish nationality, aged over 16 and have a driving licence, as well as at least a secondary level education. Language skills and professional experience in similar posts will work in candidates’ favours in the selection process.
The information clarifies that the civic officers will in no way take the place of the Local Police force. They will be in permanent contact Local Police, but will not have the authority to issue sanctions.  
Rather the new force’s responsibilities will include promoting and raising awareness about the correct use of public property, notifying the Local Police of disrespectful actions, providing members of the public with practical information on public transport, telephone numbers and places of interest, giving directions, and generally encouraging residents to follow regulations related to civic behaviour.
Their roles will therefore cover matters like taking note of people making a lot of noise, dog owners allowing their pets to do their business in the street or run loose, dropping litter, vandalism and parking issues.
In short, “they are people who are going to help residents and give them information on how to behave correctly”, the Mayo said.
The idea is that there will be civic officers on duty throughout Albox and that each will be allocated to a particular area.