TheGeneral Commissariat of Information (Spanish:Comisaría General de Información,CGI) is an intelligence service within theNational Police Corps ofSpain responsible for the collection, analysis and distribution of information relevant to domestic security, as well as its exploitation or operational use, especially in matters ofcounterterrorism, both nationally and internationally.[1][2] It may be regarded as the Spanish equivalent of the United Kingdom'sSpecial Branch.
It is colloquially namedsecret police, though in Spain the name of secret police is usually used to any police officer in plainclothes.
The General Commissariat of Information was created in November 1912 along with the Directorate-General for Security (currentlyDirectorate-General of the Police) as a "center where all the data and information from the national territory flows, related to the maintenance of general order and the prevention and prosecution of crimes (...)".[3]
In 1939 it was renamed as General Commissariat of Information.[4] According to the agreements of theCouncil of Ministers, this service has the rank of secret, and his structure, budget, resources, procedures and agents can not be revealed.
From the General Commissariat of Information depends the special unit called TEDAX-NRBQ. TEDAX is the Spanish name for the units trained inbomb disposal.
