Mossos and Urban Guard sign an agreement that had been resisting for two decades: what will change?

BarcelonaTwenty-one years later, the Mossos d'Esquadra and the Guàrdia Urbana have renewed this Thursday the agreement that regulates the collaboration between the two forces. "A very important step," in the words of the Minister of the Interior, Núria Parlon, who wants to favor joint work between both police forces and consolidate a harmony that has had its ups and downs over these two decades. Among the novelties of the text is the possibility of expanding the reception of complaints at municipal police stations, the reinforcement of information exchange between the two forces, and more coordination in the investigation of certain crimes and in the care for victims of gender and domestic violence.

In a press conference, Parlon highlighted that Guàrdia Urbana stations will be able to act in the collection of complaints for minor crimes just as the Mossos d'Esquadra stations do. “Any citizen of Barcelona will double the capacity for attention when it comes to receiving these complaints and carrying out these procedures,” she stated. Until now, the municipal police could only process these complaints for theft, robbery with violence, or minor assaults when the perpetrator of the crime was unknown, but now they will also be able to do so when the victim knows the perpetrator of the events.

The mayor of the Catalan capital, Jaume Collboni, has explained that the first Guàrdia Urbana station where these types of complaints can be filed will be the one being built in Sarrià, which will already have a specific space for these procedures. As the mayor detailed, the goal is for work to also begin during 2027 to modify the stations in Eixample, Ciutat Vella, Sant Martí, and Nou Barris. In the rest of the districts, he said, it will still be necessary to wait a little longer.

Another axis of the new agreement is investigation. Parlon explained that the agreement allows progress to be made in the “initial basic investigations” that can be carried out jointly by the Mossos and the Guàrdia Urbana. The text also provides for harmonizing procedures and work systems and strengthening access to databases and police video surveillance systems. All of this will be done while maintaining the current framework of competencies of the two forces.

The specific aspects of this new cooperation, however, are not yet closed. The agreement acts as a general framework and will have to be developed through specific protocols, currently in preparation, regarding the exchange of information, the receipt of complaints, the investigation of crimes, and the care for victims.

Improvement of data

All of this should contribute to continuing the improvement of security indicators in Barcelona, Parlon and Collboni have stressed. Although some recent episodes involving bladed weapons and firearms have reignited the perception of insecurity, the ministry and the city council have claimed that the data have improved compared to last year, since the beginning of 2026, known criminal incidents have decreased by more than 16% compared to the same period last year. In this line, thefts have fallen by 23.9%, incidents linked to multi-recidivism by 18.9%, and crime on public transport by 40.7%.

In contrast, robberies with force in establishments have increased by 21%, going from 248 to 300, while arrests linked to this typology have grown by 28.6%. Incidents with bladed weapons have dropped by 20%, and between January and August, 1,722 bladed weapons were seized, 6% fewer. During this same period, fifteen violent deaths have been recorded in Barcelona, twelve of which have already been solved by the Mossos. Five were with a firearm and nine with a bladed weapon.