- Please visit our social media pages
Based on an article on the Moncloa website.
The Secretary of State for Security of the Ministry of the Interior has drawn up a protocol for action against illegal occupations of buildings for the National Police and the Civil Guard that standardizes and improves the police response.
The protocol also guarantees that the reports include all the elements that must be provided to the judicial authorities to prove the commission of the crime and the participation of its alleged perpetrators, among other objectives.
This “Protocol of Action of the State Security Forces and Bodies in the illegal occupation of buildings” recalls that the phenomenon of occupation receives a differentiated response in the Penal Code depending on whether or not the property constitutes the residence of its owner. But, based on jurisprudence on the matter, the instruction of the Ministry of the Interior emphasizes that both the first and second homes (when the resident occupies the property only at certain times of the year, such as weekends or holidays) should be considered dwellings, so they have the same legal protection.
Speed is of the essence, the eviction of the illegal occupants of a property should take place within 72 hours.
Something you can do to help if you are caretaker of properties or just keeping an eye on your neighbours’ properties.
In parallel with the above-mentioned protocol, the ALERTCOPS mobile application will include a specific functionality this month so that affected people, owners, neighbours or any other user who detects a case of illegal occupation of properties can immediately bring the facts to the attention of the National Police and Civil Guard.
AlertCops is a service provided through a free application on mobile devices, which provides a direct channel with the State Security Forces and Bodies to communicate an event of which one is a victim or witness.
