Is Santiago del Teide a police municipality?

[realejos]

Two months ago I moved to Puerto de Santiago. Before moving here I lived 2,5 years in Gran Canaria and 2,5 years in the North of Tenerife.
I really like Puerto de Santiago but nevertheless today I decided that I am not going to stay in this village anymore. The main reason is regular police checks.

First time I was stopped by a policia local near Tamaimo when I was bringing my belongings from Los Realejos to Puerto Santiago. They ckecked the car and papers and I think that it's just a random check.

Every day I work 10-14 hours in front of my computer and when I finish my work I am taking long walks. Usually I walk to Alcalá and back but this night I had a first walk in Puerto de Santiago. At ~21:30 I was standing at Mirador de Archipenque when police were passing by and wanted to see my identity papers. I said that I live in a few hundred meters from the mirador and I don't have any document with me. Police officer explained that by Spanish law I must carry identification card or passport at all times. Then they wanted to know my name/surname, NIE, address, birth date - because there are robberies in this area and their checks are for my own safety. I wrote down all my data and they drove. After some 10 minutes another municipal police crew stopped at Archipenque and came to my side. Then I heard them talking on police radio. The first crew told to the second that they have checked me. They drove, but I was very distracted and very angry. Is there some kind of curfew in Puerto de Santiago and all people who are not on the main street are potential robbers?

As I wrote before, I live here 5 years and I never had any police checks. I remember in Gran Canaria I often met policemen in a an empty sea promenade during my night walks and they just said "Buenas noches" and never asked anything.

I am not going to take any night walks in Puerto Santiago anymore because I don't want to look like a potential robber in the eyes of police, but what's going on here? Do the police really think that they are fighting crime by asking to write down personal data to the people who are out after sunset?

[candy2411]

I wouldn't be paranoid over this if I were you.

The police were just doing their job and as long as they weren't offhand or abusive in any way, what is there to worry about.

Personally I'm not against seeing a police presence anywhere, as I think it does act as a deterrent to people up to no good.

If you've done nothing wrong and nothing to hide, is it really a big deal.

[ribuck]

I also go walking at night, and I share the distaste that realejos describes for this kind of police action. Crime reduction would be better served by walking the beat and getting to know the locals with "Buenas noches". Then, when they see some guy jumping over a wall with a sack, they can ask him for his papers.

But you only need to read the Letters pages of UK newspapers to see repeated calls for UK police to stop and challenge anyone out at night in the name of "fighting crime".

[realejos]

candy2411, I am not paranoid at all. I am not against random checks and not against seeing a police presence. The problem is that in the municipality of Santiago del Teide/Los Gigantes you are a potential criminal in the eyes of police just because you are not at home after dark. They want a total control over you. The municipality is really small, in Puerto de Santiago live ~5000 people. For this small town they have 2 police cars cruising the streets day and night. But nothing happends - there is no nightlife, no teenagers smoking marihuana, no drunk tourists, no prostitutes on the streets, nothing. That's why they are looking for "victims" to write reports and to show what an important job they are doing.

One more episode. When I transferred my belongings to Puerto Santiago, it was not possible to park the car in front of my house and I parked it in front of garage the door. As long as bring in my belongings, a police car passed by. Then they drove back to see if there is no sign which prohibits parking in front of the garage door.

I live here 2 months and police have checked my papers already twice. If I go out after dark, I will be checked daily. It's increible.

If you search Google for "Policia municipal Santiago del Teide", you will get more results about their acivities. A few years ago el alcalde of Santiago del Teide has confirmed that there are problems with policia local:

El alcalde de Santiago del Teide, el nacionalista Juan Damián Gorrín, reconocía ayer que la Policía Local de su municipio tiene «mala fama»...

Read more:
La Policía de Santiago del Teide acumula infinidad de denuncias (http://www.canarias7.es/articulo.cfm?id=125230)
La Verdadera Policía : Intento de Agresión Sexual en Santiago del Teide (Tenerife) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ro7FkxP18I)

My rental contract ends in february and I am not going to stay in this municipality where walking after dark is a suspicious activity. It looks that I will return to Gran Canaria because I can't feel at home in Tenerife, but it's another story.