A Local Police officer who had worked as a temporary officer in the Torrevieja police force for years lost his job because he wouldn’t carry the required gun. This basic criterion for any candidate, combined with his promise to use it if required, did not mesh with his religious values, thus he turned it down when he applied for a permanent civil service job. According to individuals within the government team his rationale was religious.
He went to the Valencian Institute of Public Safety and Emergencies (IVASPE) training during this time. He had to go to this course as part of the stabilisation process that the remaining temporary workers, 43 officers in all, went through to keep their civil service jobs. The European Union asked all Spanish public administrations to stop hiring people on a temporary basis in recent years, and this process has been put into place. But in Torrevieja, it has been delayed for almost a year because the city tried and failed to exempt candidates from the physical and psychological tests.
Qualification
The officer, who has worked with the Torrevieja police since 2003, went to the training course in Cheste with the rest of his coworkers. But he didn’t go to the training center’s theoretical classes on firearms or the shooting practice that were part of the course. He had already said in writing that he would not be learning about guns or practicing shooting before the course started. This would have made it official that he couldn’t take part in the training.
However, he was let in without IVASPE administration telling him that he would not be able to take the course unless he met the requirement to carry a gun. IVASPE granted them a second chance to pass the course, which is required by law because not everyone succeeds the first time. In this scenario, the cop just didn’t sign up.
Hundreds of temporary officers who have been able to get their civil service jobs through this process have done their regular police duties and services for years without carrying a gun. This is because the law says that police positions that aren’t filled by permanent officers can’t carry guns. Some of them have only worked as temporary police for more than ten years. Some local police officers have even just gotten their permanent jobs. They are about to move to the second service since they are getting older.
Freedom of religion
The police officer who just departed the area is a Jehovah’s Witness. This religious group upholds the Bible’s rule against carrying or using guns. People who follow it also don’t join the military. They base their interpretation on a Bible verse, among others, that predicts countries would “beat their swords into ploughshares.” But in order to do his job well, he needs to know a lot about weapons and how to use them. The people in charge of the IVASPE course and the Torrevieja Local Police tried to make this former officer’s right to religious freedom work via the process of consolidation.
The IVASPE (Spanish National Police Service) tried to change some of the content of the basic course for joining the Local Police force because of this unusual case of conscientious objection. This was especially true for the module on police tactics, which includes shooting practice and other self-defence topics. However, other people who know about the case say that the IVASPE made it clear from the start that it would not pass without these subjects.
Unit for special purposes
This officer worked in the Local Police’s Operational Reinforcement Group while he was an interim local police officer. A unit that is no longer in use and whose members dealt with greater public safety issues. In addition, the officer’s choice has stopped the next officer in queue from filling the open position.
The Citizen Security Department has started the process of filling this open position. This comes at a time when, after years of trying, the force has been able to get more officers who reflect the demographics of a city with a population of over 100,000 people, with peaks during the holidays that make this number go up even more.
There are presently about 180 police officers, including commanders. It may seem strange, but the process of stabilising temporary officers has made it possible to hire this many officers. This is because the job openings that were generated are now being filled through employment exchanges, which are also being put out to tender. For the first time in a long time, eight or nine patrol cars can cover various shifts on the street.
Author: Derek Appleton
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