The Civil Guard Information Service (, SIGC) is an intelligence service within the Spanish Civil Guard 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 (alternatively spelled: counter-terrorism), also known as anti-terrorism, relates to the practices, military tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, law enforcement, businesses, and Intelligence agency, intelligence ...

, both nationally and internationally. As established in the Agreements of the

Council of Ministers Council of Ministers is a traditional name given to the supreme Executive (government), executive organ in some governments. It is usually equivalent to the term Cabinet (government), cabinet. The term Council of State is a similar name that also m ...

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

classified information Classified information is confidential material that a government deems to be sensitive information which must be protected from unauthorized disclosure that requires special handling and dissemination controls. Access is restricted by law or ...

History

During the second half of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, the main problems faced by the Civil Guard were

banditry Banditry is a type of organized crime committed by outlaws typically involving the threat or use of violence. A person who engages in banditry is known as a bandit and primarily commits crimes such as extortion, robbery, kidnapping, and murder, ...

and

anarchist terrorism Propaganda of the deed, or propaganda by the deed, is a type of direct action intended to influence public opinion. The action itself is meant to serve as an example for others to follow, acting as a catalyst for social revolution. It is primari ...

. 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. 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 Eta ( ; uppercase , lowercase ; ''ē̂ta'' or ''ita'' ) is the seventh letter of the Greek alphabet, representing the close front unrounded vowel, . Originally denoting the voiceless glottal fricative, , in most dialects of Ancient Greek, it ...

, the SIGC, together with the

General Commissariat of Information The General Commissariat of Information (, CGI) is an intelligence service within the National Police Corps of Spain responsible for the collection, analysis and distribution of information relevant to domestic security, as well as its exploitati ...

(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