The Family and Female Reception Units (UFAM) of the National Police denounce the abandonment of the Ministry of the Interior to the protection of victims of gender violence: there has already been more than a hundred cases per agent.
In a conversation with EL ESPAÑOL, the United Police Union (SUP) warns of the need for an “emergency of resources” to avoid “worrying risks” for the safety of victims.
According to official data, until December this year, the number of women murdered by gender-based violence increased to forty cases.
The agents they demand more media to fight against gender violence after the increase in cases of assassinations of women and the “empty” investments announced six months ago by the Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska.
“Specific measures were announced regarding procedures and systems, but the allocation of personnel to the UFAM was insufficient; they did not cover the real demand in many territories. Was there an administrative and technological response? Yes, but no human, homogeneous and sufficient reinforcement in all the provinces”, affirms the union.
At the end of June, after a wave of sexist assassinations, the Interior ordered the police “increase the means of protection for victims”. The instruction required extreme monitoring of the most serious cases, better coordination with their environment, and increased procedures for early detection of unreported cases.
However, the union assures that “Efforts have not been directly devoted to strengthening the UFAM nor to address specific gaps, such as staffing, training and mobile resources or the needs of police stations.
“In this way, the protection of women cannot be guaranteed absolutely,” they affirm, while recalling the controversy caused by the failures of anti-abuse telematic bracelets which, according to them, illustrate how technological modernization is not enough when it is not accompanied by sufficient human resources and real operational support.
However, they recognize that the General Directorate of Police has made investments in equipment, renewal of the fleet (there are registered public purchases and receipts of vehicles) and updating of the VioGén system.
Main problems
Among the shortcomings they denounce is the number of agents that the Ministry of the Interior devotes to the fight against this type of delinquency. According to data to which EL ESPAÑOL had access, women’s care units are “undersized” and, therefore, with an “unaffordable” workload.
According to the union, agents are “overwhelmed” and these ratios should be lowered below thirty or forty active cases per agent, to carry out more frequent and individualized evaluations.
Union reports place the national average at around 60 cases per agent, a number they already consider excessive to ensure proactive and effective monitoring.
The same goes for the transfer of complainants in police vehicles which, according to the SUP, “are not in adequate conditions for rapid, discreet and safe intervention”.
“The lack of means of mobility delays travel, makes control difficult and reduces the capacity for immediate intervention in risky situations. Availability in each neighborhood is critical. It is incompatible with proactive control and effective protection. We must be aware that a delay of a few minutes can be decisive for the safety of a victim.”
Official data supports the union’s complaints about risky situations, which, according to the latest available figures, are already more than 180,000 reviews.
These figures only include victims benefiting from a protection order or precautionary measures after a complaint. The actual number of women affected is therefore higher, because many never come forward.
Education and training
Another crack between ministerial discourse and reality appears in specialized training. The union assures that certain police officers have not been able to access the compulsory specialization course on violence against women for years, despite repeated announcements of improved training in this area.
“Training has improved, but it is not entirely good. We ask the ministry for ambitious training planning, with restrictive timetables to prevent agents without the necessary preparation,” indicates the SUP.
The outlook for the research sector is no better. Agents report that some investigators manage hundreds of active files simultaneouslywhile international best practices recommend much lower prices, particularly in complex cases.
“The cautious reference is placed in dozens of cases, and in delicate investigations, no more than 10 or 15 files at a time,” they explain.
The result, after this Interior effort, remains the same: overwhelmed units, neglected victims and lack of training to support the protection and security of the complainants.
“Out of public responsibility”, they demand immediate measures, starting with the strengthening of staff, vehicles, training and specific logistical means for the UFAM. Without these measures, they warn, the collapse could get worse.
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