Albert Batlle: "In Barcelona, there is a very clear lack of video surveillance."

BarcelonaAlbert Batlle (Barcelona, 1953) is the Third Deputy Mayor for Security at Barcelona City Council and Councilor for Ciutat Vella. He speaks to ARA ahead of the City Security Board, which is scheduled to meet this Monday to confirm the decline in crime in the Catalan capital.

Crime is falling, but insecurity remains the main problem for many Barcelona residents.

— We must accept that objective security doesn't exist. The data show that crime has decreased, but security is what each person perceives. And social media plays a role in this. A stabbing is very serious, but a stabbing counted 40 times isn't 40 stabbings. That said, we've currently turned the corner, and I believe the Security Board will certify this.

What has been done to reduce crime?

— The Mossos d'Esquadra and Guardia Urbana police force has increased its staff; relations between the two forces are enjoying a healthy period, and we also maintain a very fluid relationship with the judiciary and the Prosecutor's Office. We've complemented all of this with measures against repeated offenses, such as increasing the number of courts.

Does the fact that there is less crime but it is more serious fuel this feeling of insecurity?

— It's true that for some time now we've moved from theft to violent robbery, which means they take your phone or purse, but they also push or punch you.

I was also thinking about the murder of Consell de Cent. Is organized crime on the rise in the city?

— This is very unusual. In a big city, these kinds of things happen, and they're often unpredictable and unavoidable. It can't be generalized, nor should it create a sense of alarm.

And what about edged weapons? Have they been reduced?

— They've been reduced. The Mossos d'Esquadra and we have increased the checks with metal detectors, and now it's very rare to find knives in large concentrations. At first, there were times when, when a metal detector appeared, ten minutes later there would be a pile of knives on the ground.

Drugs are the city's big problem.

— This is the major issue we must address from a security perspective. Drugs are a criminal business that we want to combat at all costs. It's a problem that exists in all major cities, but in Barcelona, we have the added problem that, as a port city, we are a gateway for drugs. The fight against drugs is a war.

Are you detecting any changes in consumption?

— We must always be aware of how this business evolves and how production is progressing to detect potential consumer trends, because the effects of heroin are one thing and those of methamphetamines are another. It's also necessary to fight the trivialization of drug use. It may seem paternalistic, but this also begins with the fight against marijuana, which is the first bastion of this entire chain. I'm not saying that anything that starts with marijuana ends up becoming a trafficker, but it's clear that marijuana also provides income for major drug criminals.

There are still narco-pises in the city.

— I think we've contained it, because when we detect one, we act. But they're reinventing themselves. Before, it was a completely marginal activity for people squatting in apartments; now they're renting them through a front man with no criminal record, and evicting them is much more complicated.

Are you worried about the situation in Sant Antoni? Residents report that the neighborhood has worsened.

— I'd say it's not so much a crime issue here as a more general lack of security. There's a perception issue that we'll have to combat by being more vocal and listening to residents and business owners.

He promised to install more cameras in the city. Do you know when and where?

— It's crystal clear that there's a lack of video surveillance in Barcelona. Our plan is to install 500 cameras in the future, but it's a slow process. As for locations, the two key parameters are: points with high concentrations of people—which is important during a terrorist threat—and locations where significant criminal activity has been detected.

Will the Urbana police force grow?

— Any shortage in the Guardia Urbano must be able to be filled, and we don't rule out the possibility of additional personnel. For example, one area we've worked on extensively during this term is night units. Currently, there are night units in Ciutat Vella, Eixample, Sants Montjuïc, and Sant Martí, and by the end of the year, there will also be one in Sant Andreu.

The last plenary session overturned the use of Tasers by the Urban Guard. Will they try to reinstate them?

— We won't start this mess again. We're lucky that the Mossos d'Esquadra in Barcelona already have this instrument, and they may expand it in the future. But with the elections two years away, this is a debate I have no interest in reopening unless things change significantly.

You were very tough on Junts then. Are you confident you'll be able to pass the coexistence ordinance with them?

— This isn't a government ordinance; it's a citywide ordinance. We've accepted many of the suggestions made by different groups, and those we haven't accepted are because our legal services have told us they were illegal. There's still time for dialogue until November, but I'm confident we can get final approval because we need it. Our ordinance predates even the Citizen Security Law. We must be able to equip ourselves with the tools.

One of the priorities of the Ciutat Vella land use plan is to curb the proliferation of cannabis shops, cannabis packaging...

— The land use plan isn't a magic wand to make all unwanted commerce disappear. But the dismantling of the commercial network to benefit this type of activity, which contributes absolutely nothing, is one of the things we must continue to combat.

He once expressed surprise that businesses like this could pay such high rents and encouraged the Treasury to look into it.

— This is an issue that goes beyond the City Council's inspection capacity, but representatives from the Tax Agency are also involved in some of the multiple inspections we are conducting. We are concerned because we understand that there may be not only money laundering, but other types of criminal activity.

Have you decided whether you would like to continue the next term?

— I'm fine the way I am. I feel very young.