Mossos d'Esquadra

The Mossos d'Esquadra are the police force of Catalonia. The force was founded in 1950, but a different Catalan force with a different name, the Escuadras de Paisanos, was one of the oldest police forces in Europe. The term Mossos d'Esquadra was first used as an informal name for this earlier force.

The Escuadras de Paisanos (later known as the Esquadres de Catalunya) are a force from which the Mossos d'Esquadra have no direct descent.


On July 21, 1950 the Deputation of Barcelona was authorised to create a small security force using the historical title Mossos d'Esquadra. These new Mossos were a militarized corps with little similarity to the earlier incarnations, with limited attributes and few in number.

With the return of democracy to Spain, the Mossos d'Esquadra grew in number and attributions. Since October 25, 1980 the force has been under the authority of the Generalitat de Catalunya (regional Government of Catalonia).

The current incarnation of the Mossos d'Esquadra was created by a law of the Generalitat of July 14, 1983, basically re-founding the previous corps into a modern police force. They are no longer a military force, but a civilian one. Since then, the Mossos have gradually grown in both number, skills and responsibilities.

The Mossos d'Esquadra have now replaced Spain's Policia Nacional and Guardia Civil within the territory of Catalonia. This process of substitution began in 1994 and was completed in 2008.[2] In November 2005, the Mossos took full duties in the city of Barcelona.

The Mossos d'Esquadra are a police force of the Spanish state placed under the authority of the Generalitat de Catalunya, within the territory of the autonomous community of Catalonia, and in accordance with the principles of the Spanish constitution and all legal provisions therefrom derived, such as the Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia and the laws therefrom derived. The Policia Nacional and the Guardia Civil, on the other hand, are commanded directly by the Spanish ministry of the interior. They keep some officers in Catalonia to handle terrorism, identity documents, immigration and other limited responsibilities of the central government.[3]

The Mossos are trained in the Institut de Seguretat Pública de Catalunya (Public Safety Institute of Catalonia), which also trains local police officers.

May 2014 - 'HEAD of Catalunya's Mossos d'Esquadra (regional military police force), Manel Prat, has resigned over ongoing allegations of 'unnecessary violence' by officers against members of the public'.[4]

Mossos d'Esquadra[en.wikipedia.org]