Alicante launches a Mobile Citizen Service Office along with 10 new patrol cars

As part of the budget deals made between the Popular Party government coalition and the Vox municipal group, the Alicante City Council gave the Local Police 11 new cars this Friday. Julio Calero, the Councillor for Security, showed off a new addition: a van that serves as a Mobile Citizen Service Office. This van will go to neighbourhoods and beaches to deal with complaints, questions, and ideas. It will be on display for the first time tomorrow at the Teulada market, and it can be changed to work as an Advanced Command Post.

The main new thing that was announced is the new Mobile Citizen Service Office, which will open this Saturday at the Teulada Market. Its goal is to make citizen service more accessible to neighbourhoods and beaches, as well as to be more present at big events. This office will also include six passenger cars and three all-terrain vehicles to patrol the city centre and rural areas.

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This office has a desk and chairs for serving people. It also has solar panels on the roof to make it more self-sufficient in terms of electricity. It is also ready for a wifi router and the option to install a monitor in case an Advanced Command Post needs to be set up in case of an emergency.

The six new Ford Focus hybrid patrol cars will monitor the city centre, and the three Ford Ranger pickup trucks will give good service in outlying areas. They have a lot of power and come with a winch to pull out stuck cars, a snorkel to help them wade through water, and a covered cargo bed in the back to carry gear.

Calero said, “This office will move around the city every day with the help of the Neighbourhood Police, focussing on areas of greatest need to help residents of our neighbourhoods, as well as attending to large-scale events like the pilgrimage to Santa Faz or Carnival, among other needs that may come up.” “The first service it will provide will be this Saturday at the Teulada market, but its presence is being considered for public squares in neighbourhood centres such as Plaza de Argel, the Colonia Requena area, Ciudad de Asís, Plaza de Juan Pablo Segundo, and other neighbourhoods, in addition to the beaches, especially during the summer,” the councillor commented.

The Local Police on the island of Tabarca now have an electric car in their fleet. This makes it easier for officers to get around and helps them help the public better, especially in the summer when there are more people. Calero also said that the procedure of hiring an additional 27 patrol cars, which were already given to the business Transitel, is almost done.

The councillor said, “The City Council is making a great effort to renew the Alicante Local Police fleet with the addition of new units every year, such as these 11 vehicles recently added and another 27 new patrol cars whose bidding process is being finalised and which will be incorporated in the coming months, as stipulated in the government agreements proposed by the Vox municipal group.” He also said that “at the end of last year, 10 BMW 600cc motorcycles were added, and this year, specifically in March, 9 Ford Cuga SUVs were added,” with an investment of nearly 2.7 million euros between 2024 and 2025.

This purchase of 27 hybrid SUV patrol cars, which is presently going on for 1.7 million euros, is in addition to the purchase of 10 motorcycles (BMW) for about 144,000 euros at the end of last year and nine more SUV vehicles (Ford Cuga) for 391,551 euros in March of this year. The newest contract to update the police vehicle fleet for additional 600,000 euros adds six patrol cars, three all-terrain vehicles for watching over rural regions, a van to serve as a Citizen Service Office, and an electric vehicle for the island of Tabarca.

The Security Councillor said that “the city’s efforts to modernise local security services don’t stop with getting new police cars. They also include getting new uniforms, bulletproof vests, helmets, protective shields, and weapons for the officers. Recently, the city awarded a new contract worth more than 800,000 to do this.”

New Headquarters

Calero also talked about the money being spent to improve police infrastructure. For example, work is already underway to finish the Central Headquarters of the Local Police on Avenida Locutor Vicente Hipólito with a budget of 2.8 million euros. It should be ready to use by April 2026.

“This is a big project that the Popular Party government team is pushing for as part of the agreements with Vox.” The councillor said, “It will make the Local Police more visible, along with the renovation of the Juan XXIII police station on Barítono Paco Latorre street, which will serve the neighbourhoods of the North Zone. This will allow us to continue implementing the new organisation by districts, along with the rest of the existing police stations, the addition of new agents, and the improvement of resources.”