The General Police Corps (, CGP) was a

law enforcement Law enforcement is the activity of some members of the government or other social institutions who act in an organized manner to enforce the law by investigating, deterring, rehabilitating, or punishing people who violate the rules and norms gove ...

force of Spain established by the Francoist regime in 1941 to conduct

criminal investigation Criminal investigation is an applied science that involves the study of facts that are then used to inform criminal trials. A complete criminal investigation can include Search and seizure, searching, interviews, interrogations, Evidence (law), ...

and enforce

political repression Political repression is the act of a state entity controlling a citizenry by force for political reasons, particularly for the purpose of restricting or preventing the citizenry's ability to take part in the political life of a society, thereby ...

. They should not be confused with the Armed Police Corps, which was responsible for the maintenance of

public order Public order may refer to * Public security: the prevention of and protection from events that could endanger the safety and security of the public from significant danger or property damage * Public order policing: police maintenance of order ...

History

Following the overthrow of the

Second Spanish Republic The Spanish Republic (), commonly known as the Second Spanish Republic (), was the form of democratic government in Spain from 1931 to 1939. The Republic was proclaimed on 14 April 1931 after the deposition of Alfonso XIII, King Alfonso XIII. ...

in April 1939, the Francoist Spain initially relied on the

Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

in order to handle public order issues. Mariano Aguilar (1999)
''El ejército español durante el franquismo''
p. 58 By means of two sets of laws issued on 3 August 1939 and 8 March 1941 the Spanish State reorganized the police forces of Spain (namely the and the Guardia de Asalto) and officially the General Police Corps was created. Mariano Aguilar (1999)
''El ejército español durante el franquismo''
p. 62 The selection of the cadres was made between the former members of the police who had passed the purge, and also through a new selection of candidates that was made at the end of the war. Mariano Aguilar (1999); ''El ejército español durante el franquismo'', p. 63 The profile of accepted candidates ranged from

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

veterans of the Nationalist faction, militants of the

Movimiento Nacional The Movimiento Nacional () was a governing institution of Spain established by General Francisco Franco during the Spanish Civil War in 1937. During Francoist Spain#Francoism, Francoist rule in Spain, it purported to be the only channel of parti ...

or former Guardia de Asalto members. A section dedicated to the work of

secret police image:Putin-Stasi-Ausweis.png, 300px, Vladimir Putin's secret police identity card, issued by the East German Stasi while he was working as a Soviet KGB liaison officer from 1985 to 1989. Both organizations used similar forms of repression. Secre ...

, the Political-Social Brigade was also created. The Minister of Governance Blas Pérez González was the main organizer of the Political-Social Brigade in its origins. The commissioner became the head of the Political-Social Brigade, being known among the opponents for his brutal methods of interrogation and

torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons including corporal punishment, punishment, forced confession, extracting a confession, interrogational torture, interrogation for information, or intimid ...

. The policeman Antonio González Pacheco (alias "

Billy the Kid Henry McCarty (September 17 or November 23, 1859July 14, 1881), alias William H. Bonney, better known as Billy the Kid, was an American outlaw and gunfighter of the Old West who was linked to nine murders: four for which he was solely res ...

") become the right hand of Conesa. In 1968, the workforce of the CGP consisted of 8,200 members, including inspectors, police officers and officials. Ramón Tamames (1974); '' Historia de España Alfaguara VII. La República. La Era de Franco.'' p. 371 In 1974, a "female group" was created, composed of 70 personnel from the administrative and auxiliary bodies, who would be responsible for various functions, such as information, surveillance of persons or searches of women. During its existence the CGP conducted the investigation of some crimes that had great social echo, as was the case of the murders committed by José María Jarabo, or the crimes of the ''poisoner of

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

'', Pilar Prades. The CGP also highlighted the case of the anarchist Salvador Puig Antich, who was blamed for the murder of a police inspector and who ended up being

executed Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence (law), sentence ordering that an offender b ...

by the

garrote A garrote ( ; alternatively spelled as garotte and similar variants)''Oxford English Dictionary'', 11th Ed: garrotte is normal British English spelling, with single r alternate. Article title is US English spelling variant. or garrote vil () is ...

. During the

Spanish transition to democracy The Spanish transition to democracy, known in Spain as (; ) or (), is a period of History of Spain, modern Spanish history encompassing the regime change that moved from the Francoist dictatorship to the consolidation of a parliamentary system ...

, on 4 December 1978, the CGP was reorganized and succeeded by the new

Superior Police Corps The Superior Police Corps (, CSP) was a law enforcement force of Spain created during the Spanish transition to democracy and predecessor of the present-day National Police Corps. It was also known colloquially as "the Secret Police" or simply "th ...

(CSP) through Law 1978/55. C. Pomares Ramón, J. Vadillo García (2012);
La policía local como policía judicial
', p. 169 In 1986 the CSP was later on integrated into the current

National Police Corps The National Police Corps (, CNP; ; also known simply as the National Police, ) is the national civilian police, police force of Spain. The CNP is mainly responsible for policing urban areas, whilst rural policing is generally the responsibil ...

(CNP).

Organic structure and functions

Organically the CGP depended on the Ministry of Governance, although directly it did it through the Directorate-General of Security. Officially, the CGP was in charge of the investigation of crimes, common offenses and conducting political repression. Within its internal organization it had two separate sections: * Political-Social Brigade, in charge of repression against opposition movements. * Criminal Investigation Brigade, in charge of investigation of crimes and common offenses. Regarding questions of public order, police interventions and charges, these were under the exclusive jurisdiction of the Armed Police Corps.

Rank insignia

Although the CGP was a civilian institution, its members could wear uniforms with the rank of their category for official events.

Emblems

File:Primer escudo CGP.png, First Emblem (1942). File:Segundo escudo CGP.png, Second Emblem (1954). File:Tercer escudo CGP.png, Third Emblem (1962). File:Cuarto escudo CGP.png, Fourth Emblem (1972).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:General Police Corps Defunct law enforcement agencies of Spain 1941 establishments in Spain 1978 disestablishments in Spain Political repression in Spain Specialist law enforcement agencies of Spain

History

Organic structure and functions

Rank insignia

Emblems

See also

References