Policía Armada
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The (), conventional long names () and (), —popularly known as () owing to the color of their uniforms— was an armed urban police force of
Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
established by the Francoist regime in 1939 to enforce the repression of all opposition to the regime. Its mission was "total and permanent vigilance, as well as repression when deemed necessary." The first commander of the was General Antonio Sagardía Ramos. In its first years of operation the corps was inadequately equipped in armament and vehicles but this situation would be steadily straightened out.


History

Following the overthrow of the
Second Spanish Republic The Spanish Republic (), commonly known as the Second Spanish Republic (), was the form of democratic government in Spain from 1931 to 1939. The Republic was proclaimed on 14 April 1931 after the deposition of Alfonso XIII, King Alfonso XIII. ...
in April 1939, the Francoist Spain initially relied on the
Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...
in order to handle public order issues. By means of two sets of laws issued on 3 August 1939 and 8 March 1941 the Spanish State reorganized the police forces of Spain and established the Armed Police as a
gendarmerie A gendarmerie () is a paramilitary or military force with law enforcement duties among the civilian population. The term ''gendarme'' () is derived from the medieval French expression ', which translates to " men-at-arms" (). In France and so ...
style national armed police that could be used to suppress disturbance of the public order and political organization in urban areas. Armed and trained for this purpose, it was intended to provide a more effective force for internal security duties in the large cities of Spain than the Guardia Civil that operated mainly in rural areas. At the time of the
Spanish coup of July 1936 The Spanish coup of July 1936( or, among the rebels, ) was a military uprising that was intended to overthrow the Spanish Second Republic, but precipitated the Spanish Civil War, in which Nationalists fought against Republicans for control o ...
that marked the onset of the
Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...
most of the members of the preceding equivalent corps, the '' Guardia de Asalto'' had stayed loyal to the
Republican government Representative democracy, also known as indirect democracy or electoral democracy, is a types of democracy, type of democracy where elected delegates Representation (politics), represent a group of people, in contrast to direct democracy. Nearl ...
and many of their units fought valiantly in the battlefronts against the Nationalists. This display of loyalty towards the Spanish Republic brought about the disbandment of the corps by General Franco at the end of the Civil War. The members of the ''Guardia de Asalto'' who had survived the war and the ensuing Francoist purges were made part of the Policía Armada, the corps that replaced it. The was placed under the Directorate-General of Security ''(Dirección General de Seguridad)'' of the Spanish
Ministry of the Interior An interior ministry or ministry of the interior (also called ministry of home affairs or ministry of internal affairs) is a government department that is responsible for domestic policy, public security and law enforcement. In some states, the ...
''(Ministerio de la Gobernación)'' and operated in most large population centers in Spain. Towards the last phase of the Francoist State it had earned a wide reputation as a ferocious corps, especially in the largest cities such as
Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...
,
Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
,
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and
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, as well as the industrial areas of Spain such as parts of
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and the Basque country, where its well-equipped anti- riot units were ruthless and effective in quelling demonstrations by university students and workers that were often very large. In the months after the death of the ''
caudillo A ''caudillo'' ( , ; , from Latin language, Latin , diminutive of ''caput'' "head") is a type of Personalist dictatorship, personalist leader wielding military and political power. There is no precise English translation for the term, though it ...
'' the Armed Police actively cracked down on protests and political rallies, continuing the infamous
riot control Riot control is a form of public order policing used by law enforcement, military, paramilitary or security forces to social control, control, disperse, and arrest people who are involved in a riot, unlawful Demonstration (people), demonstration ...
operations of the Francoist State. Viewed as unpopular and too closely identified with Franco's Spain, the was slightly reorganized in the first years of the
Spanish transition to democracy The Spanish transition to democracy, known in Spain as (; ) or (), is a period of History of Spain, modern Spanish history encompassing the regime change that moved from the Francoist dictatorship to the consolidation of a parliamentary system ...
, when brown uniforms replaced the former grey ones, among other cosmetic changes. The effort, however, revealed itself hopeless for the brutal and harsh image of the corps could not be improved and in 1979 the Armed Police was replaced by the Cuerpo Nacional de Policía (National Police Corps), later civilianized in a 1986 merger with the Cuerpo Superior de Policía (Superior Police Corps). As its other function was traffic and road safety, its duties in all national highways outside the metropolitan areas ended in June 1959, when the Civil Guard took over.


Human rights abuses

The ''Policía Armada'', together with the Guardia Civil, became notorious during the decades of Francoism for its ruthless methods and for widespread
human rights abuses Human rights are universally recognized moral principles or norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both national and international laws. These rights are considered inherent and inalienable, meaning t ...
against its victims. Indiscriminate beatings of detainees and
torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons including corporal punishment, punishment, forced confession, extracting a confession, interrogational torture, interrogation for information, or intimid ...
, with or without
interrogation Interrogation (also called questioning) is interviewing as commonly employed by law enforcement officers, military personnel, intelligence agencies, organized crime syndicates, and terrorist organizations with the goal of eliciting useful informa ...
, were commonplace in the many
police station A police station is a facility operated by police or a similar law enforcement agency that serves to accommodate police officers and other law enforcement personnel. The role served by a police station varies by agency, type, and jurisdiction, ...
s ''(Comisarías)'' as well as in the headquarters of the Armed Police. Interrogations usually included a member of the Brigada Político-Social, the Francoist political repression wing. The brutal image of the Spanish police would be so pervasive that it has continued to haunt the National Police Corps that replaced the ''Policía Armada'' following the Spanish Transition to this day.


Ranks

The ranks and insignia of the ''Policía Armada'' displayed its military character and structure. When the National Police Corps replaced it in 1979, it would take 7 years before the rank system was replaced.


Officers


Non-commissioned ranks


Vehicles

The Armed Police used different types of vehicles until its disbandment in 1978. Their registration plates had the letters FPA ''(Fuerzas de Policía Armada)'' in black over white. The Mobile Units (''Banderas Móviles'') used the following vehicles: * Land Rover Santana S-II four-wheel drive vehicles * Land Rover Santana S-III four-wheel drive vehicles in their short and long versions * Avia buses * Ebro B-45 trucks * Sanglas 400 motorcycles The General Reserve Companies (''Compañías de Reserva General'') used the following: * Avia 1250 vans *
Büssing Büssing AG was a German bus and truck manufacturer, established in 1903 by Heinrich Büssing (1843–1929) in Braunschweig. It quickly evolved to one of the largest European producers, whose utility vehicles with the Brunswick Lion emblem were w ...
riot
water cannon A water cannon is a device that shoots a high-velocity stream of water. Typically, a water cannon can deliver a large volume of water, often over dozens of meters. They are used in firefighting, large vehicle washing, riot control, and mining. ...
sPolice Water Cannon in Parbayon, Spain ' 96
/ref> *
Dodge Dodge is an American brand of automobiles and a division of Stellantis, based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. Dodge vehicles have historically included performance cars, and for much of its existence, Dodge was Chrysler's mid-priced brand above P ...
tankette A tankette is a tracked armoured fighting vehicle that resembles a small tank, roughly the size of a car. It is mainly intended for light infantry support and scouting.
s * DKW N1000 vans The Garrison Units (''Banderas de Guarnición'') were equipped with: * SEAT 1400 cars * SEAT 1500 cars *
SEAT 124 The SEAT 124 is a small family car produced by the Spanish manufacturer SEAT in its Zona Franca, Barcelona and Landaben, Pamplona plants between 1968 and 1980. The car was very successful in Spain having sold 896,136 units,Sava The Sava, is a river in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, a right-bank and the longest tributary of the Danube. From its source in Slovenia it flows through Croatia and along its border with Bosnia and Herzegovina, and finally reac ...
J4 patrol wagons * Traffic patrol
bicycle A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike, push-bike or cycle, is a human-powered transport, human-powered or motorized bicycle, motor-assisted, bicycle pedal, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, with two bicycle wheel, wheels attached to a ...
s The
Cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from ''cheval'' meaning "horse") are groups of soldiers or warriors who Horses in warfare, fight mounted on horseback. Until the 20th century, cavalry were the most mob ...
Platoons (''Caballería'') used Avia 2500 trucks that could carry four horses each for their anti-riot operations, troops were only armed with batons and pistons while sporting lances for ceremonial parades.


See also

*'' Carabineros'' *'' Guardia Civil'' *'' Cuerpo de Seguridad y Asalto'' *'' Cuerpo General de Policía'' *
Political repression Political repression is the act of a state entity controlling a citizenry by force for political reasons, particularly for the purpose of restricting or preventing the citizenry's ability to take part in the political life of a society, thereby ...
*
White Terror (Spain) The White Terror (), also called the Francoist Repression (), was the political repression and mass violence against dissidents that were committed by the Nationalist faction during the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939), as well as during the fir ...


References


External links

*
The ''Grises'' charging in Vitoria in 1976Himno de la Policia Armada- Los GrisesSpanish Police Badges
{{DEFAULTSORT:Armed Police Corps Military history of Spain Defunct law enforcement agencies of Spain 1939 establishments in Spain 1978 disestablishments in Spain Political repression in Spain Specialist law enforcement agencies of Spain Police brutality in Europe Political repression in Francoist Spain Military of Francoist Spain