The Guàrdia Urbana (English: ''Urban Guard'') is the municipal police force for the city of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.

History

Originally it was formed in November 1843 as the "Municipal Guard". Although in 1907 it became the "Urban Guard". Originally their

police officer A police officer (also called policeman or policewoman, cop, officer or constable) is a Warrant (law), warranted law employee of a police, police force. In most countries, ''police officer'' is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. ...

s were armed with a

sabre A sabre or saber ( ) is a type of backsword with a curved blade associated with the light cavalry of the Early Modern warfare, early modern and Napoleonic period, Napoleonic periods. Originally associated with Central European cavalry such a ...

pistol A pistol is a type of handgun, characterised by a gun barrel, barrel with an integral chamber (firearms), chamber. The word "pistol" derives from the Middle French ''pistolet'' (), meaning a small gun or knife, and first appeared in the Englis ...

, and a

rifle A rifle is a long gun, long-barreled firearm designed for accurate shooting and higher stopping power, with a gun barrel, barrel that has a helical or spiralling pattern of grooves (rifling) cut into the bore wall. In keeping with their focus o ...

. Following Tragic Week events in 1909 the force was demilitarized, and officers are now armed with sidearms for personal defence. During the early 20th century the force based their uniform types around that of the British Police uniform. The emergency contact number is 092.

Equipment

Police officers carry long batons, Walther P99 pistols and PDAs.

Ranks

Constable A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. ''Constable'' is commonly the rank of an officer within a police service. Other peo ...

*Senior Constable *

Sergeant Sergeant (Sgt) is a Military rank, rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and in other units that draw their heritage f ...

* Sub-inspector *

Inspector Inspector, also police inspector or inspector of police, is a police rank. The rank or position varies in seniority depending on the organization that uses it. Australia The rank of Inspector is present in all Australian police forces excep ...

* Chief Inspector *Sub-superintendent * Superintendent

Vehicles

*Primarily Toyota Prius V; previously

Citroën Citroën ()The double-dot diacritic over the 'e' is a diaeresis () indicating the two vowels are sounded separately, and not as a diphthong. is a French automobile brand. The "Automobiles Citroën" manufacturing company was founded on 4 June 19 ...

, SEAT Altea XL and SEAT Toledo patrol cars * Renault Trafic and Citroën Jumpy vans * Nissan Pathfinder 4WD vehicles *

Honda commonly known as just Honda, is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate automotive manufacturer headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Founded in October 1946 by Soichiro Honda, Honda has bee ...

F 250 and Piaggio scooters *

Polaris Polaris is a star in the northern circumpolar constellation of Ursa Minor. It is designated α Ursae Minoris (Latinisation of names, Latinized to ''Alpha Ursae Minoris'') and is commonly called the North Star or Pole Star. With an ...

dune buggies *

Yamaha XT 600 The Yamaha XT600 is an Enduro motorcycle manufactured by Japanese List of motorcycle manufacturers, motorcycle manufacturer Yamaha Motor, Yamaha. It was built from 1984 to 2003, in various different versions. Model history The XT600 is consid ...

E (off-road) and Honda ST1300 E (traffic policing) motorbikesMobile Units , About us , Guardia Urbana , Barcelona City Council website

References

External links