It is not clear whether it slipped out – it seems the announcement was scheduled for this Tuesday, during the welcome of the new agents of the Urban Guard – or if the mayor wanted to respond preventively to the reprimand that shortly after, in a press conference, came from the Junts stands regarding the use of bladed weapons in Barcelona. Jaume Collboni took advantage of a housing event this Monday (see the previous page) to announce that all local police vehicles will carry a metal detector shovel in the trunk. This will happen starting next year, when the entire fleet of 184 cars is scheduled to be renewed for about 20 million euros.
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It was in November 2022 when the deputy mayor of Security, Albert Batlle, first used the expression “culture of the knife.” He was called all sorts of things, but the fact is that the Ciutat Vella councilor also saw it coming and since then has tried to remedy the hemorrhage. But water sometimes overcomes the flow, and this past weekend five people were injured by bladed weapons in four incidents: a massive fight in Poblenou, another brawl near the Ronda de Dalt, two injured in Carmel, and another in Turó de la Peira. So far, two arrests have been made. If the problem is observed with some perspective, according to the data provided after the last Local Security Board, bladed weapon assaults between January and June have fallen by 21% compared to the same period last year.
The local police already have 96 detector shovels that sleep in the territorial police stations. Every morning, depending on the service, one use or another is given to them. From the commissioning of the new vehicle rental, the 184 cars will have, in addition to a breathalyzer, detention kit, defibrillator, and signaling system, the aforementioned shovel to detect knives.
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As Collboni suspected, the leader of Junts in Barcelona, Jordi Martí, has harshly criticized the PSC government after “a black weekend.” “These are no longer isolated incidents, we are facing a crisis of city degradation with the increase in stabbings.” Martí has promised that if he wins the May 23, 2027 elections, he will directly assume the functions of political security manager. “We cannot get used to it, we have to say enough,” concluded the post-convergent mayoral candidate.
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