Where have all of the cops disappeared? Fuengirola residents and Marbella residents are worried about police absence.

Residents in Fuengirola and Marbella are questioning where the Policía Local have gone, claiming that officers who once regularly walked the streets are becoming increasingly difficult to spot.

They are not concerned about serious crimes. The concern is not necessarily about serious crime.

“It’s all very well passing these all these bylaws aboy scooters and wearing swimwear off on the streets, but where are the Policía Local?”

Incredibly, the police force has been growing.

The official figures are more complex. Fuengirola Town Hall announced in May that its Policía Local currently has 146 officers, with 12 new officers undergoing training and another eight positions approved. The council stated that the police force was below the recommended staffing ratio for the town.

Marbella is also increasing its police numbers. In February, the town announced plans for around 30 new Policía Local positions, while 25 students began the latest entry course in May.

It may not be about the number of officers that a city has, but instead how many are on visible patrols in the streets at any one time. The number of police officers is not always reflected in the statistics. Residents experience police numbers by observing an officer walk through their neighborhood, speak to other residents and shopkeepers, monitor busy pedestrian areas, or deal with minor offenses.

So, ‘Where are the Policía Local?’

This distinction is the core of readers’ complaints. One from Fuengirola said,  “The ‘bee in my bonnet’ is that our Gobierno and Ayuntamiento spend thousands of euros a year in meetings and passing laws when both they and the general public know that there are no police on the street to see them upheld,” she wrote.

Her examples include beachwear and drinking alcohol in public. She recalls an era when the visibility of police on the coast was a deterrent. “There was very little crime or misdemeanors in our locality when they were walking the streets,” she said.

Her argument is minor infractions can become normalised over time if no one appears to enforce rules. “These may be minor infractions within the larger scheme of Law and Order. But when these small rules are not corrected, it is likely that others will start to take advantage and this can lead to lawlessness, which is hard for anyone to correct.”

One obvious example is e-scooters or bicycles.

Local police now have another area of responsibility to oversee with the new rules that govern personal mobility vehicles. Local residents have reported that officers are stopping scooter users after the introduction of stricter national requirements. These include rules related to safety equipment, helmets and insurance, as well as where vehicles can be used. Once you cross over the border into Las Lagunas de Mijas (which is ambiguous), it is a different story. The police are frequently stopping helmetless scooter riders.

Fuengirola previously reported substantial enforcement activities involving personal vehicles. Police forces in Malaga Province also increased their checks of e-scooters. Fuengirola also invests in its own fleet of police cars, with five new patrols being purchased under a contract that runs until 2026.

A new patrol vehicle, for residents, is not the same as a police officer walking along the Paseo Maritimo.

The summer brings a new challenge to police

There’s heat everywhere! Tourism adds a new layer of complexity. The police can direct their resources to traffic enforcement, nightlife operations and investigations, as well as emergency calls. This year, a provincial summer security operation provides 409 additional National Police personnel and Guardia Civil in the province of Malaga. Marbella will receive 54 officers, and Fuengirola 25, as part of a provincial summer security operation. Those reinforcements, however, are not the same as additional Policía Local officers carrying out routine neighbourhood foot patrols.

Residents don’t want more rules, but reassurance

A Marbella reader admitted that his complaint was partly tongue-in cheek. “If an incident occurs after the clubs have thrown out, then they are in force. So what are they up to during the day?” he asked. He remembers also the reassurance he received from officers who were visible, walking about and chatting to people in the evenings. “It was reassuring when I saw policemen on the streets. They were like fatherly figures keeping their families safe.”

These comments raise an important question for Costa del Sol residents: Does having more police officers in the area mean that they will be able to see more crime? more police officers on the beat?

Fuengirola’s latest recruitment figures indicate that the local forces are expanding, while Marbella also actively recruits. The message from the taxpayers for Mayor Ana Mula and Mayor Ángeles Muñez is almost literally “show us the money”!