Public prosecutor's office criticizes Catalan police leadership changes

Attorney denies any political interference into investigations

Catalan Mossos d'Esquadra police spokesperson Montserrat Escudé besides interior minister Joan Ignasi Elena, and head of police Eduard Sallent during a press conference on November 3, 2022
Catalan Mossos d'Esquadra police spokesperson Montserrat Escudé besides interior minister Joan Ignasi Elena, and head of police Eduard Sallent during a press conference on November 3, 2022 / Pol Solà
ACN

ACN | @agenciaacn | Barcelona

November 4, 2022 11:38 AM

November 4, 2022 01:00 PM

Catalonia's public prosecutor Pedro Ariche has criticized the "constant" changes in the leadership of the Catalan Mossos d'Esquadra police force over the last few years.

The attorney believes that it affects long-term projects, strategies, and relationships, as well as making it more difficult to coordinate between the prosecutor's office and law enforcement agents.

Ariche addressed the issue on Friday morning in the Catalan parliament, where he urged policymakers to ensure more stability in the police. In mid-October, the latest head of the Mossos d'Esquadra was ousted by interior minister Joan Ignasi Elena, the 8th such leadership change in the last five years.

Judicial police are managed by judges and attorneys, and therefore there cannot be any political "interferences," Ariche said.

He considered these acts "completely inadmissible," and sait it should be judges and prosecutors who lead these law enforcement agents and not politicians, "as it has happened."

The attorney answered questions from politicians in a committee to study the police workflow. Ariche used the vast majority of his time to explain how police legislation works.