The Civil Guard Information Service (, SIGC) is an intelligence service within the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

Civil Guard responsible for the collection, analysis and distribution of information relevant to domestic security, as well as its exploitation or operational use, especially in matters of

counterterrorism Counterterrorism (also spelled counter-terrorism), also known as anti-terrorism, incorporates the practices, military tactics, techniques, and strategies that Government, governments, law enforcement, business, and Intelligence agency, intellig ...

, both nationally and internationally. As established in the Agreements of the

Council of Ministers A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/ shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or nati ...

of November 28, 1986 and February 16, 1996, the structure, organization, resources and specific operating procedures of the Information Services and those specifically destined to the fight against terrorism, as well as such as its sources and any information or data that may reveal them, is

classified information Classified information is material that a government body deems to be sensitive information that must be protected. Access is restricted by law or regulation to particular groups of people with the necessary security clearance and need to know, ...

History

During the second half of the

19th century The 19th (nineteenth) century began on 1 January 1801 ( MDCCCI), and ended on 31 December 1900 ( MCM). The 19th century was the ninth century of the 2nd millennium. The 19th century was characterized by vast social upheaval. Slavery was abolis ...

and the beginning of the

20th century The 20th (twentieth) century began on January 1, 1901 ( MCMI), and ended on December 31, 2000 ( MM). The 20th century was dominated by significant events that defined the modern era: Spanish flu pandemic, World War I and World War II, nuclear ...

, the main problems faced by the Civil Guard were

banditry Banditry is a type of organized crime committed by outlaws typically involving the threat or use of violence. A person who engages in banditry is known as a bandit and primarily commits crimes such as extortion, robbery, and murder, either as an ...

and

anarchist terrorism Propaganda of the deed (or propaganda by the deed, from the French ) is specific political direct action meant to be exemplary to others and serve as a catalyst for revolution. It is primarily associated with acts of violence perpetrated by pro ...

. Due to this, the first investigation and information units were created to put an end to these acts, as happened with the other Spanish police forces (Surveillance Corps and Security Corps). Likewise, in the 1930s the "Railway Brigades" were created, plainclothes groups in charge of monitoring rail transport and whose components, for the most part, ended up joining the SIGC. However, the origin of an information service as such dates back to 1940. That year, the Civil Guard was completely reorganized by means of the Law of March 15, 1940 and the Order of April 8, 1940 that developed it, creating the Civil Guard' General Staff and mentioning for the first time an information service integrated in the Second Section of the General Staff. In order to comply with this mandate, on February 24, 1941, the director-general of the Civil Guard issued a circular, completed by the reserved order of April 1, 1941, which contained the precise instructions for putting the service into operation, creating thus, officially, the Civil Guard Information Service (SIGC). During the period of activity of the terrorist group

ETA Eta (uppercase , lowercase ; grc, ἦτα ''ē̂ta'' or ell, ήτα ''ita'' ) is the seventh letter of the Greek alphabet, representing the close front unrounded vowel . Originally denoting the voiceless glottal fricative in most dialects, ...

, the SIGC, together with the

General Commissariat of Information The General Commissariat of Information (, CGI) is an intelligence service within the National Police Corps of Spain responsible for the collection, analysis and distribution of information relevant to domestic security, as well as its exploitatio ...

(CGI), have been the most responsible for its combat and dismantling.

References

{{Authority control 1941 establishments in Spain Government agencies established in 1941 National law enforcement agencies of Spain Spanish intelligence agencies Government agencies of Spain Civil Guard (Spain)

History

See also

References