Guardia Civil improvements on the table

DOLORES town hall and the national government will work together to improve the facilities at the municipality’s Guardia Civil station, which covers over 60,000 inhabitants in Albatera, San Isidro, Catral, Daya Nueva and Daya Vieja as well.

A meeting was held there on Tuesday with the government’s representative in Alicante province Araceli Poblador, Guardia Civil colonel José Hernández Mosquera and mayor Joaquín Hernández. This was the first contact between them in order to agree on what short and long-term investments are required to provide the station with the best services, said the mayor.

He noted that the building is municipally owned, and the last investment made there was by the town hall to improve the changing rooms and accessibility for €38,000.

He also pointed out that many of the officers posted there have started families in Dolores and stayed in the municipality, ‘so they are known and appreciated by residents’.

Sra Poblador said the officers deserve the public building they work in to be in the best possible condition because ‘they look after our security and do great work’.

This month the Spanish association of Guardia Civil (AUGC) complained that many of the force’s stations in Alicante province do not have any air conditioning to heat or cool the premises.

As a result, during the current cold spell officers are having to get changed in temperatures of below 10ºC, or in the summer above 28ºC.

If they do not want to work in these conditions, wearing gloves and coats, etc., they have to bring in heaters from their own homes, the association laments. This situation not only affects the changing rooms at the Guardia Civil station in Dolores, but also those in San Juan, Jávea, Altea, Callosa del Segura, Pego, Guardamar, Pedreguer and the women’s facilities at Fontcalent prison.

The AUGC noted that they complained about this same problem after storm Filomena two years ago but still nothing has been done.

They urged for a solution to be found ‘for the health of the officers and the wellbeing of the general public’.