Antoni Borràs is chief of police in Sa Pobla, a municipality with a high immigrant population and where the total number of residents has risen more than had been expected. Sa Pobla's agriculture is far more extensive than the potatoes for which it is famed, and theft from farms is a regular problem for the police.
The population stands at just under 14,200, the increase over the past ten years having been around 1,400. Sa Pobla therefore isn't a large municipality, but its police numbers could always do with being greater.
Chief Officer Borràs explains that there are currently fourteen officers. "In 2024 I imagine that four more will be added, but there is a problem in all the municipalities in the Balearics - the bureaucracy of the selection process. It can take a year to enter our force."
This is a municipality where crime is said to be linked to immigrants, but he stresses that, in terms of crime, "we are average". "This can be corroborated by the official data supplied by the Guardia Civil headquarters. Integration of immigrants has always been very good and the relationship with the local police is pretty good. We constantly communicate with the mosque and those in charge."
For him, the greatest concern is the increase in population. "It's not only Sa Pobla, but we are certainly growing faster than had been expected. Town halls have to adapt citizen security in order to be able to control this excessive growth - both residents and the temporary tourist population."
On theft from farms, the chief of police says that the post of a rural officer was created three years ago. The main function for this officer is communication with the rural area. "The most important thing is to have daily communication with the farmers, to find out about their problems, not just theft."
Cooperation with other forces is vital in the day-to-day policing of Sa Pobla. This is particularly close with Inca police and the Guardia Civil, with whom there is a "good relationship". "In the 25 years that I have been in the force it has always been good."