The Civil Guard Information Service (, SIGC) is an intelligence service within the Spanish

Civil Guard Civil Guard refers to various policing organisations: Current * Civil Guard (Spain), Spanish gendarmerie * Civil Guard (Israel), Israeli volunteer police reserve * Civil Guard (Brazil), Municipal law enforcement corporations in Brazil Histori ...

responsible for the collection, analysis and distribution of information relevant to domestic security, as well as its exploitation or operational use, especially in matters of

counterterrorism Counterterrorism (also spelled counter-terrorism), also known as anti-terrorism, incorporates the practices, military tactics, techniques, and strategies that Government, governments, law enforcement, business, and Intelligence agency, intellig ...

, both nationally and internationally. As established in the Agreements of the Council of Ministers of November 28, 1986 and February 16, 1996, the structure, organization, resources and specific operating procedures of the Information Services and those specifically destined to the

fight against terrorism The war on terror, officially the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT), is an ongoing international Counterterrorism, counterterrorism military campaign initiated by the United States following the September 11 attacks. The main targets of the campa ...

, as well as such as its sources and any information or data that may reveal them, is classified information.

History

During the second half of the

19th century The 19th (nineteenth) century began on 1 January 1801 ( MDCCCI), and ended on 31 December 1900 ( MCM). The 19th century was the ninth century of the 2nd millennium. The 19th century was characterized by vast social upheaval. Slavery was abolis ...

and the beginning of the

20th century The 20th (twentieth) century began on January 1, 1901 (1901, MCMI), and ended on December 31, 2000 (2000, MM). The 20th century was dominated by significant events that defined the modern era: Spanish flu, Spanish flu pandemic, World War I and ...

, the main problems faced by the

were banditry and anarchist terrorism. Due to this, the first investigation and information units were created to put an end to these acts, as happened with the other Spanish police forces (Surveillance Corps and Security Corps). Likewise, in the 1930s the "Railway Brigades" were created, plainclothes groups in charge of monitoring rail transport and whose components, for the most part, ended up joining the SIGC. However, the origin of an information service as such dates back to 1940. That year, the Civil Guard was completely reorganized by means of the Law of March 15, 1940 and the Order of April 8, 1940 that developed it, creating the Civil Guard' General Staff and mentioning for the first time an information service integrated in the Second Section of the General Staff. In order to comply with this mandate, on February 24, 1941, the director-general of the Civil Guard issued a circular, completed by the reserved order of April 1, 1941, which contained the precise instructions for putting the service into operation, creating thus, officially, the Civil Guard Information Service (SIGC). During the period of activity of the terrorist group ETA, the SIGC, together with the General Commissariat of Information (CGI), have been the most responsible for its combat and dismantling.

References

{{Authority control 1941 establishments in Spain Government agencies established in 1941 National law enforcement agencies of Spain Spanish intelligence agencies Government agencies of Spain Civil Guard (Spain)

History

See also

References