Nights in Palma: Local Police Staff Shortages Put Security at Risk

Nights in Palma: Local Police Staff Shortages Put Security at Risk

Key question: Who protects Palma at night when a shift is supposed to be handled by only half a dozen people?

It is just after midnight, the lamps on Plaça d'Espanya cast yellow light on wet cobblestones, figures stand in front of a fast-food outlet, loud music spills from a bar, taxis honk. A patrol car idles slowly past with two officers inside. There are no more on the street. This is what a Mallorca night looks like that many of us know — and it is currently vulnerable.

The staff union ATAP has filed an urgent request with the city administration: more personnel for the local police night patrol. The background is lost capacity due to retirements, temporary secondments and working-time rules intended to reconcile work and family life. These departures have apparently not been replaced by new hires. The result: more and more shifts distributed over fewer heads.

Critical analysis: The situation is not merely a personnel problem, but a question of resilience and planning. When patrols are reduced, deployments shift, response times lengthen, and conflicts — especially with heavily intoxicated customers or in groups — fall more quickly to the few colleagues who are still available. More on-call duties, additional night shifts and fixed surveillance posts at sensitive locations increase the burden without sustainably stabilizing the structure.

What is missing from the public debate: concrete numbers and timelines. How many positions are actually vacant? How many days off are being postponed? Which specific personnel categories are lacking? Residents and business owners report longer waiting times for responses, as highlighted after recent Nighttime break-ins in Palma: Arrest Stops the Spree, yet the administration has so far only issued expressions of intent. Also hardly discussed: the mental and physical exhaustion of the officers and the consequences for the quality of police work.

The debate about the new organizational plan for the local police also remains too technical. Unions have pointed to delays and the original start date was postponed, as reported in Palma's local police threaten protests — officers' patience has run out. Such administrative processes may be understandable on paper, but they offer no rescue on the street at night.

A scene from Palma: On Plaça de les Columnes a café server sits outside, rubbing her hands against the cold seeping through her jacket. She knows the faces of the night police, greets them, and counts inwardly the times officers were stuck on a single deployment for longer than expected. As sirens become rarer, her unease rises. This is not an abstract problem — it affects lives, the sense of safety for visitors and locals, and the social climate in neighborhoods with lively nightlife.

Concrete measures that could take effect immediately:

- Short term: Transparent shift planning and publication of vacant positions; targeted overtime pay and night-shift premiums to retain staff in the short term; temporary secondments from less burdened municipal units with clear return deadlines.

- Mid term: A recruitment plan with fixed deadlines for civil servant posts including an accelerated selection process; introduction of a structured trainee or internship program explicitly for the night patrol combining training and deployment; mandatory guaranteed rest periods so days off are not permanently canceled.

- Organizational and strategic: Publication of a realistic timeline for the organizational plan with milestones and public accountability; involvement of the unions in implementation steps; psychological support and regular health checks for officers.

- Networking: Better coordination with other security forces and municipal services (e.g. public order department, social services) to address alcohol- or homelessness-related incidents with a multidisciplinary approach, as suggested after the Night raid at Playa de Palma: assessment, questions and what's missing; targeted prevention measures in hotspots, such as improved lighting, designated contacts for hospitality businesses, and mediation services.

What the city should make transparent immediately: a simple list of vacant positions, the number of staff who left in the past 24 months, and a realistic timetable showing how many new hires are planned for which quarter. Citizens have a right to know whether nighttime presence is increasing or continuing to shrink.

What we can contribute as a community: Local business owners could exchange shift information to report critical nights early; neighborhood initiatives can promote safe routes for residents; and visitors should be informed how to behave responsibly at night — less escalation means less pressure on the few officers available.

Conclusion: A sense of security that hangs by a thin thread of personnel is risky. The city administration must not dismiss the night as an administrative problem. Clear figures, binding hiring deadlines and a plan that does not treat night work as residual are needed. Otherwise the familiar night in Palma will become one where nobody can respond quickly enough.