NCJ Number
157905
Journal
Policing and Society Volume: 5 Issue: 1 Dated: (1995) Pages: 15-36
Date Published
1995
Length
22 pages
Annotation
The Autonomous Basque Police (ABP), one of the newest police forces in Europe, is the result of liberalizing, democratizing, and decentralizing the Spanish state since the death of Franco in 1975.
Abstract
Although the ABP owes its existence to the general transformation of state and society in Spain since Franco, its roots go much deeper and are intimately entwined with a central and controversial theme in Basque history, the claim of the Basque nation to statehood. Historical origins and institutional foundations of the ABP are reviewed, along with achievements of and prospects for the ABP. The author notes that policing responsibilities in the Basque region have evolved from the national to the regional level, that the Spanish state still retains considerable authority and influence over the ABP through the Joint Security Commission and national policing legislation, and that a harmonious working relationship between Spanish and Basque authorities can be sustained as long as the legitimacy of each other's interests in policing the Basque region are recognized. 40 references