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| Mossos d'Esquadra | |
|---|---|
 Patch | |
 Logo | |
| Common name | Mossos |
| Agency overview | |
| Formed | 21 April 1719; 306 years ago (1719-04-21) |
| Legal personality | Police force |
| Jurisdictional structure | |
| Operations jurisdiction | Catalonia |
 | |
| Map of Mossos d'Esquadra's jurisdiction | |
| Size | 32,108 km2 (12,397 sq mi) |
| Population | 7,727,029 |
| Governing body | Generalitat de Catalunya |
| General nature | |
| Operational structure | |
| Headquarters | Complex Central Egara,Sabadell (Barcelona),Catalonia,Spain |
| Mosso/as | 18.355 (2023)[1] |
| Minister responsible | |
| Agency executive |
|
| Facilities | |
| Stations | 106[2] |
| Website | |
| mossos.gencat.cat | |
TheMossos d'Esquadra (Catalan pronunciation:[ˈmosuzðəsˈkwaðɾə]; English:"Police Squad"), also known as thePolicia de la Generalitat de Catalunya and informally asMossos, is thepolice force of the autonomous community ofCatalonia. Their origins can be traced back to squads formed in 1719, however, after various abolitions and refoundations, the body was definitively restablished in 1950, becoming the official police of Catalonia in 1983 and being progressively deployed throughout the Catalan territory between 1994 and 2008.[3]
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TheEscuadras de Paisanos, later known as theEsquadres de Catalunya, (and informally known as theMossos d'Esquadra), weremen-at-arms who had fought asirregulars in theWar of the Spanish Succession, and were brought together by the mayor of the town ofValls nearTarragona between 1719 and 1721. The corps was constituted as a militia to provide security to trade routes and fairs. It was created as a complement to the regular troops of theBourbon army, which opposed theMiquelets, who survived as rebel supporters ofArchduke Charles.
The Mossos was manned by local people, who had to speakCatalan and be familiar with local paths, caves, and hiding places. It was eventually placed under military jurisdiction, but was less centralised than the Spanish police force (then known as theIntendencia General de Policía) formed in 1817, or the yet-to-be-establishedGuardia Civil. Throughout the centuries, control of the Mossos passed back and forth several times from Catalan authority to Spanish military command.
The Mossos were dissolved in 1868 byGeneral Prim after the fall of QueenIsabella II of Spain, since the Mossos had always been royalists. They were reinstated in 1876 under the reign of Isabella's son kingAlfonso XII of Spain, but only in the province of Barcelona. Under his sonAlfonso XIII of Spain, the Mossos were not well regarded in Catalonia, especially by theCommonwealth of Catalonia, who paid them but had no control over them.
The Mossos flourished underPrimo de Rivera's dictatorship; despite this, when theSecond Spanish Republic was proclaimed, the Mossos sided with theGeneralitat de Catalunya (the government of Catalonia). After theSpanish Civil War, the last Mossos left Catalonia with the President of the Generalitat, and the corps was dissolved by theFrancoist authorities until its recreation in 1950.
On 21 July 1950 theFrancoist-controlledProvincial Deputation of Barcelona was authorised to create a small security force using the historical titleMossos d'Esquadra. These new Mossos were a militarized corps having little similarity to the earlier incarnations, with limited powers and small numbers, which was in charge of protecting the government buildings of theProvince of Barcelona. With thereturn of democracy to Spain, theMossos d'Esquadra grew in number and powers. Since 25 October 1980 the force has been under the authority of theGeneralitat de Catalunya.
The Mossos d'Esquadra have now replaced theGuardia Civil andNational Police within the territory of Catalonia. This process of substitution began in 1994 and was completed in 2008.[4]
TheStatute of Autonomy of Catalonia (Catalan:Estatut d'Autonomia de Catalunya) defines the scope of action of the Generalitat Police Force – Mossos d'Esquadra as the whole of the Catalan territory, and states that it exercises all the functions of a police force in the following fields:[5]
The Mossos d'Esquadra operate under the authority of theGeneralitat de Catalunya within the territory of theautonomous community of Catalonia (through the Catalan Ministry of Home Affairs; Catalan:Departament d'Interior). TheNational Police and theCivil Guard, by contrast, are commanded directly by the SpanishMinistry of the Interior. The Mossos keep some officers in Catalonia to support anti-terrorism operations, handleidentity documents, police immigration, and execute other limited responsibilities of the central government.[6]
The sidearms officers can pick from are theHeckler & Koch USP or theWalther P99 both of which are chambered for9×19mm. Regular Mossos can also use theHeckler & Koch UMP sub-machine gun, used by the Mossos during the2017 Barcelona attacks.
The Mossos are trained in theInstitut de Seguretat Pública de Catalunya (Public Safety Institute of Catalonia), which also trains local police officers.
| Insignia |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | No insignia |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Title | Major | Comissari | Intendent | Inspector | Sotsinspector | Sergent | Caporal | Mosso |
| English translation | Major | Commissioner | Intendent | Inspector | Lieutenant | Sergeant | Corporal | Constable |
The Special Intervention Group (GEI; in Catalan:Grup Especial d'Intervenció) is a Mossos d'Esquadra body that specializes in situations with a high risk of armed violence such as terrorist detention, rescues of hostages, and VIP protection. This group is under the command of the Intervention Division.
This group was created in 1984 with the collaboration ofSpezialeinsatzkommando (SEK) ofGermany. It was kept secret in anticipation of the security challenges that would be posed with the holding of theBarcelonaOlympic Games in 1992. Another rationale for its creation was to transfer responsibility forprisons to theGeneralitat de Catalonia; this was felt to require a protocol to deal with riots or hostage-taking.
The force has a large quantity and variety of weapons.[citation needed] Each of the weapons is assigned only to one GEI.
| Weapon | Origin | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Heckler & Koch P30 |  Germany | Sidearm |
| Heckler & Koch USP Compact | ||
| Glock 17 Gen 5 |  Austria | |
| Walther P99 | Germany | |
| FN Five-seveN |  Belgium | |
| Heckler & Koch MP5 | Germany | Submachine gun |
| Heckler & Koch MP7 | ||
| FN P90 | Belgium | |
| Heckler & Koch G36 | Germany | Assault rifle |
| FN SCAR | Belgium | |
| Heckler & Koch HK417 | Germany | Precision rifle |
| Remington 870 |  USA | Shotgun |
| Heckler & Koch PSG1 | Germany | Sniper rifle |
| SAKO TRG-22 |  Finland | |
| M110 Semi-Automatic Sniper System | USA | |
| AMPDSR-1 | Germany |
The Mossos employs several makes of vehicles, for both patrol and undercover operations. These vehicles are high-powered SUVs, vans, motorbikes and 4x4 vehicles. They also operate helicopters and drones for aerial operations.[citation needed]
Controversies related to the Mossos d'Esquadra include:
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
