The general director of the Civil Guard presents the security device established for the 2021 Xacobeo Holy Year

The event was attended by the Mayor of Santiago de Compostela, Xosé Antonio Sánchez; the Government Delegate in Galicia, José Manuel Miñones; the General Director of Emergencies of the Xunta, Santiago Villanueva; the Operations Command of the Civil Guard, Lieutenant General Félix Blázquez; and the Chief General of the Civil Guard Zone in Galicia, Luis Rodríguez, among other authorities

Members of the Cavalry Squad, SEPRONA, Citizen Security and the Mobile Pilgrim Assistance Offices (OMAP’s) participated in the capabilities exhibition, held in the Plaza del Obradoiro.

During his visit to the Company of Santiago, he has interviewed the members of the different units to learn first-hand about the work they carry out.








The general director of the Civil Guard, María Gámez, presented this morning at the headquarters of the Santiago de Compostela city council the security device that the Civil Guard has established for the 2021 Xacobeo Holy Year, in order to guarantee the protection and security of all citizens traveling on the Camino de Santiago.

The event was attended by the Mayor of Santiago de Compostela, Xosé Antonio Sánchez; the Government Delegate in Galicia, José Manuel Miñones; the General Director of Emergencies of the Xunta, Santiago Villanueva; the Operations Command of the Civil Guard, Lieutenant General Félix Blázquez; and the Chief General of the Civil Guard Zone in Galicia, Luis Rodríguez; as well as representatives of the Association of Municipalities of the Camino de Santiago and the Spanish Federation of Associations of Friends of the Camino de Santiago.

María Gámez has begun her intervention by highlighting that this year the specific Safety Plan for the Camino de Santiago, which the Civil Guard designs every year, within the framework of the Safe Tourism Plan of the Secretary of State for Security, takes on special relevance as it is in the Xacobeo Holy Year.

“To this circumstance, we must add that the summer season is approaching and that mobility restrictions have been‘ eased ’due to the health crisis caused by Covid. That is to say, more pilgrims are expected again and from the Civil Guard we try to redouble our efforts to guarantee their safety, their protection and attend to the needs of the people at all times along the almost 4,000 kilometers that the different Jacobean routes add up. This is the message we want to launch today: the Camino is safe because the Civil Guard is there ”.

Likewise, he has indicated that a special effort will be made on the French Way (Galicia, Castilla y León, La Rioja and Navarra), since, according to the groups associated with the Camino, this Jacobean route concentrates most of the traffic, around 95%, especially in the last 100 kilometers.

The general director has made mention of the services that the Civil Guard carried out last year 2020 related to the Camino. In total, more than 26,800 services were counted, including humanitarian ones, and 19 aid and 24 mountain rescues were carried out on pilgrims. He has also pointed out that "the Corps units collaborated in the evacuation of thousands of pilgrims from the Jacobean routes, in collaboration with the national Pilgrim Associations, when the first state of alarm due to the pandemic was decreed in mid-March 2020".

As a novelty for this edition, María Gámez has highlighted the deployment of 4 Mobile Pilgrim Assistance Offices (OMAP's) to enhance safety on the French Way. "These itinerant offices will be highly visible to pilgrims, each of them will be staffed by 3 civil guards with language skills and will facilitate the presentation of complaints if necessary, in addition to offering information of interest through QR codes" .

The purpose of the OMAP's of the Corps is to provide close attention to the pilgrim who, during their stay on the Camino, requires personalized assistance through a specialized team of the Civil Guard and, in cases deemed necessary, in a jointly with members of foreign police forces.

In addition, he has ensured that the Guardians on the Road communication campaign will continue, with the distribution of posters with safety advice in various languages ​​at different points along the way; and with the use of the Alertcops application of the Ministry of the Interior, which provides information of interest and the possibility of setting locations and activating alerts if necessary.

According to the general director, international police cooperation is also reinforced and foreign visitors are cared for. “In 2020 it could not be done due to the pandemic, but together with the Civil Guard, the French police will be again this year, with 11 troops, Portugal with another 9 agents and Italy with another 7, between July 1 and 31 of August. In total, 27 troops on the French Way. And this year, for the first time, the presence of the police from Brazil, Germany and the United Kingdom is scheduled for the week before and after July 25 ”.

He ended his speech by thanking the Association of Municipalities of the Camino de Santiago and the Spanish Federation of Associations of Friends of the Camino de Santiago, “because their support allows the Civil Guard to provide a better service and improve the protection of the population".

Exhibition of capabilities

Subsequently, an exhibition of capabilities took place in the Plaza del Obradoiro, in which agents of the Cavalry Squadron, SEPRONA, Citizen Security and the Mobile Pilgrim Assistance Offices (OMAP's) have participated in order to publicize the work provided by the Civil Guard to ensure the safety of the pilgrims during the Camino.

Security plan

The Civil Guard provides the fundamental nucleus of the protection of the pilgrim and the Way, giving priority to the preservation of citizen security, traffic regulation, land use planning and the protection of the historical-artistic and environmental heritage, expanding this year the device to the more than 4,000 kilometers that comprise the Jacobean routes (Caminos de Galicia, Caminos del Centro-Vía de la Plata, Caminos del Norte and the Camino Mozárabe), which complement the other traditional and historical routes, such as the French Way.

The operation during this year involves the participation of thousands of agents in 11 autonomous communities, which will be grouped by specialties: Citizen Security, Traffic Group, SEPRONA, Information Service, Judicial Police, Cavalry Squad, Mountain Service and Air Service .

This Xacobeo Holy Year will also serve to renew the name that the Civil Guard receives as Guardian on the Camino through the collaboration between the French Association of Municipalities of the Camino de Santiago (AMCS) and the Spanish Federation of Associations of Friends of the Camino de Santiago ( FEAACS).

Through the novelties contemplated in the Jacobean Security Plan for the Xacobee Holy Year, the Civil Guard reinforces its presence in territories with low demographic density and becomes another instrument of the administration to address the demographic challenge. According to recent statements by the General Director of the Corps, the Civil Guard will continue to be the hand that helps the citizens that are more remote, more dispersed or with fewer resources, in a commitment to emptied Spain, to which the armed institute does not will quit.

Virtual Guardian of the Way

In addition to the physical presence of the agents on the Jacobean routes, the Civil Guard will intensify its virtual presence by enhancing the ALERTCOPS application of the Ministry of the Interior. By downloading it, the pilgrim / user will be able to activate the Benemérito Guardian function, which will provide services such as 24/7 attention from the operational service centers, reception of geolocated security alerts in real time, as well as the possibility of contacting with 062, all in an environment available in 7 languages. Likewise, pilgrims will receive random messages with safety tips based on their geopositioning. With this, it is intended to develop the Virtual Guardian aspect of the Path.

International collaboration

Since it is the Xacobeo Holy Year, an exceptional year in terms of its international significance, mixed patrol services will be organized together with civil guards, in places and events with a special influx of citizens of those nationalities. In addition to the regular participation of agents from the National Gendarmerie (France), National Guard (Portugal) and the Arma de Carabinieri (Italy), this year the Civil Guard is in contact with agencies from various countries such as the United States, United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, Japan, South Korea and Brazil to specify their possible collaboration.

Visit Company of Santiago de Compostela

During his visit to the Company of Santiago, he has met with the members of the different units to learn first-hand about the work they do.

The Civil Guard makes available to the citizen a series of advice and safety recommendations related to the Camino de Santiago, among which is the decalogue on uses and advice for the good pilgrim:

https://www.guardiacivil.es/es/servicios/consejos/Camino_de_Santiago.html

For more information, you can contact the Civil Guard Press Office on 915 146 010.

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