The Palma Police force was demoralised by investigations related to the so-called Cursach case. Accusations against Bartolomé Cursach, whose business interests include BCM in Magaluf, were eventually thrown out by the courts. Palma officers were among others accused. A police source now says that neither the former mayor, José Hila, nor the councillor with responsibility for the police, Angélica Pastor, did anything for the force. "In fact, they almost caused the demise of the Palma Police during the Cursach case."
Feliciano Franco, regional secretary of the SPPME-IB, the largest police union in the Balearics, says: "We spent eight years wandering in the desert, with the socialist councillor Angélica Pastor dismantling the local police with the complicity of Manuel Penalva and Miguel Ángel Subirán." (They were respectively the investigating judge and anti-corruption prosecutor assigned to the Cursach case.) "The police force was left in ruins; there was a complete dismantling. From almost a thousand officers, we now have fewer than 750, while over the last ten years we've reached half a million inhabitants and there has been the growth in tourism."
Franco adds: "The Partido Popular gained electoral advantage from the redress to be given to the police. It was a central part of their electoral campaign, and that's why they received so many votes among the police." But to return to the unnamed source: "What Mayor Jaime Martínez is doing now is unacceptable. We feel deeply deceived."
In March 2024, meetings started to discuss a new organisational plan for the police. "The project that the PP included in their electoral platform aimed to increase the number of officers available. Currently, they are poorly distributed; there are many more in the mornings than in the evenings and at night. The plan also sought to increase the police presence on the streets. Guillem Mascaró, the current chief of police, was the most interested in seeing it implemented."
This plan dealt with issues such as overtime, shifts at the weekend, at night and for fiestas, as well as pay. It divides the force into operational and non-operational units, the former to benefit from annual pay supplements. When initially presented, there was an overwhelming majority in favour of the plan's proposals.
However, at the start of last summer it appeared evident to union leaders that progress was not being made. A protest rally was held, "which we know didn’t sit well with the mayor". After some disagreements, peace was restored, and the parties returned to the negotiating table. In October, it was announced that the new plan would be implemented this January. It hasn't been.
Early last month, the town hall explained that the plan would be delayed. The legal and human resources departments had apparently discovered that not all the necessary procedural safeguards had been adopted. The police union was furious and a protest was staged.
"A climate of great distrust has been created. We don't trust the councillor, Mercedes Celeste, because she hasn't kept her word. If we have to organise more demonstrations, we will," says one officer.
The one caught in the crossfire is the police chief, Guillem Mascaró. Widely praised for having restored morale, he is currently unable to implement a plan that, in reality, was his from the outset. "We know it's not his fault. Almost everyone here is behind Guillem. The problem lies with the town hall, which has failed us, just as Hila and Pastor did repeatedly for years." The town hall meanwhile insists: "Our priority is the residents of Palma. Things have to be done right."