THERE ARE 97 TEAMS WITH 400 AGENTS DEDICATED TO FIGHTING THESE CRIMES THROUGHOUT SPAIN
Two years have passed since the start-up of the ROCA teams of the Civil Guard, groups specialized in the prevention and prosecution of thefts in the field, who have achieved a reduction of the same. So, in the first eight months of 2015 the descent has reached a 20 %. exist 97 ROCA equipment distributed throughout Spain, With almost 400 agents practically exclusively dedicated to combating crimes on agricultural and livestock farms.
Concerned about the increase in robberies that was being detected in some provinces, especially in Almería, Valencia and Seville, the Civil Guard decided to implement this plan, that has affected especially in the fifteen provinces where three out of four robberies occurred. In addition to the three above, the most affected by this crime were Zaragoza, Albacete, Real city, Toledo, Badajoz, Cáceres, Córdoba, Huelva, Granada, Murcia, Alicante and Castellón.
Already in 2014 the reduction reached up to 12 % and so far this year, the descent has been from 19 % regarding the 8 first months of last year. Of the 13.550 criminal offenses registered between January and August 2014, has passed at 10.950 this year. All regions have registered this year significant decreases in criminal offenses committed against agricultural and livestock farms, except for Murcia, where a slight decrease has been observed. Andalusia has accounted for so far this year 3.650 crimes, a 22 % less.
Regarding the detainees, from the 1 October 2013 until the 31 August this year, the Civil Guard has arrested 3.720 people and charged to 3.135.
The 97 ROCA teams are distributed according to the relevance of the farms and the thefts they suffer. So, the province of Valencia has 7, while the average is 2 from 3, although in others the figure reaches 5. His work is not only focused on the prosecution of crime, but also in prevention. Thus, the agents maintain permanent contacts with the sector and, in fact, these have reached the 15.437. further, They have remained 2.860 meetings.
On the other hand, Fluid communication channels have been established to convey action advice and simple procedures to farmers and ranchers to avoid being a victim of these thefts.
Machinery, grapes, almonds, piñas, animals, engines, chemical products, diesel, irrigation canal pipes and all kinds of metals, mostly copper, They are the object of desire of the thieves of the field.
