General Police Corps

General Police Corps
*Cuerpo General de Policía*
General Police Corps; Cuerpo General de Policía
	The 1972 emblem of the CGP
Abbreviation	CGP
Agency overview
Formed	8 March 1941
Preceding agency	Cuerpo de Vigilancia;
Dissolved	4 December 1978
Superseding agency	Cuerpo Superior de Policía
Employees	8,200 est. 1968
Jurisdictional structure
National agency	Francoist Spain
Operations jurisdiction	Francoist Spain
Governing body	Ministry of Governance
General nature	Civilian police;
Operational structure
Overseen by	Directorate General of Security [es]
Headquarters	Madrid

The General Police Corps (Spanish: Cuerpo General de Policía, CGP) was a law enforcement force of Spain established by the Francoist regime in 1941 to conduct criminal investigation and enforce political repression. They should not be confused with the Armed Police Corps, which was responsible for the maintenance of public order.

Quick Facts General Police Corps Cuerpo General de Policía, Abbreviation ...

Close

Following the overthrow of the Second Spanish Republic in April 1939, the Francoist Spain initially relied on the Army in order to handle public order issues.^[2] By means of two sets of laws issued on 3 August 1939 and 8 March 1941 the Spanish State reorganized the police forces of Spain (namely the Cuerpo de Vigilancia [es] and the Guardia de Asalto) and officially the General Police Corps was created.^[3] The selection of the cadres was made between the former members of the police who had passed the purge, and also through a new selection of candidates that was made at the end of the war.^[4] The profile of accepted candidates ranged from Spanish Civil War veterans of the Nationalist faction, militants of the Movimiento Nacional or former Guardia de Asalto members.^[4]

A section dedicated to the work of secret police, the Political-Social Brigade was also created. The Minister of Governance Blas Pérez González was the main organizer of the Political-Social Brigade in its origins.^[5] The commissioner Roberto Conesa [es] became the head of the Political-Social Brigade, being known among the opponents for his brutal methods of interrogation and torture. The policeman Antonio González Pacheco (alias "Billy the Kid") become the right hand of Conesa.^[6]

In 1968, the workforce of the CGP consisted of 8,200 members, including inspectors, police officers and officials.^[1] In 1974, a "female group" was created, composed of 70 personnel from the administrative and auxiliary bodies, who would be responsible for various functions, such as information, surveillance of persons or searches of women.^[7]

During its existence the CGP conducted the investigation of some crimes that had great social echo, as was the case of the murders committed by José María Jarabo,^[8] or the crimes of the poisoner of Valencia, Pilar Prades.^[9] The CGP also highlighted the case of the anarchist Salvador Puig Antich, who was blamed for the murder of a police inspector and who ended up being executed by the garrote.^[10]

During the Spanish transition to democracy, on 4 December 1978, the CGP was reorganized and succeeded by the new Superior Police Corps (CSP) through Law 1978/55.^[11] In 1986 the CSP was later on integrated into the current National Police Corps (CNP).

Remove ads

Organically the CGP depended on the Ministry of Governance, although directly it did it through the Directorate-General of Security. Officially, the CGP was in charge of the investigation of crimes, common offenses and conducting political repression. Within its internal organization it had two separate sections:

Political-Social Brigade, in charge of repression against opposition movements.
Criminal Investigation Brigade, in charge of investigation of crimes and common offenses.

Regarding questions of public order, police interventions and charges, these were under the exclusive jurisdiction of the Armed Police Corps.

Remove ads

Although the CGP was a civilian institution, its members could wear uniforms with the rank of their category for official events.

More information Categories, Command Ranks ...

Categories	Command Ranks
Spain
Spain
Principal Commissioner	Commissioner General	1st rank Commissioner	2nd rank Commissioner	3rd rank Commissioner/ Chief Inspector

Close

More information Categories, Executive Ranks ...

Categories	Executive Ranks			Basic Ranks
Spain
Spain
1st rank Inspector	2nd rank Inspector	3rd rank Inspector	Subinspector/ 1st rank Agent	Subinspector/ 2nd rank Agent	Subinspector/ 3rd rank Agent

Close

More information Categories, Basic Ranks (as of 1972) ...

Categories	Basic Ranks (as of 1972)
Spain
Spain
Subinspector/ 1st rank Agent	Subinspector/ 2nd rank Agent	Subinspector/ 3rd rank Agent

Close

First Emblem (1942).
Second Emblem (1954).
Third Emblem (1962).
Fourth Emblem (1972).

[1]
(in Spanish) Ramón Tamames (1974); Historia de España Alfaguara VII. La República. La Era de Franco. p. 371
[2]
(in Spanish) Mariano Aguilar (1999); El ejército español durante el franquismo, p. 58
[3]
(in Spanish) Mariano Aguilar (1999); El ejército español durante el franquismo, p. 62
[4]
(in Spanish) Mariano Aguilar (1999); El ejército español durante el franquismo, p. 63
[5]
(in Spanish) Ramón Tamames (1974); Historia de España Alfaguara VII. La República. La Era de Franco, p. 501
[6]
"Billy el Niño: un apodo infantil para un supuesto torturador franquista". lavanguardia.com (in Spanish). 1 February 2019.
[7]
(in Spanish) Julio de Antón (2000); Historia de la policía española, p. 63
[8]
(in Spanish) Jarabo, los crímenes de un caballero español, on ElPais.com
[9]
(in Spanish) Garrote vil para la envenenadora, on ElPais.com
[10]
(in Spanish) Puig Antich, caso reabierto, on ElPais.com
[11]
(in Spanish) C. Pomares Ramón, J. Vadillo García (2012); La policía local como policía judicial, p. 169

Remove ads

[p.371-1] [1]
(in Spanish) Ramón Tamames (1974); Historia de España Alfaguara VII. La República. La Era de Franco. p. 371

[p.58-2] [2]
(in Spanish) Mariano Aguilar (1999); El ejército español durante el franquismo, p. 58

[p.62-3] [3]
(in Spanish) Mariano Aguilar (1999); El ejército español durante el franquismo, p. 62

[p.63-4] [4]
(in Spanish) Mariano Aguilar (1999); El ejército español durante el franquismo, p. 63

[5] [5]
(in Spanish) Ramón Tamames (1974); Historia de España Alfaguara VII. La República. La Era de Franco, p. 501

[6] [6]
"Billy el Niño: un apodo infantil para un supuesto torturador franquista". lavanguardia.com (in Spanish). 1 February 2019.

[7] [7]
(in Spanish) Julio de Antón (2000); Historia de la policía española, p. 63

[8] [8]
(in Spanish) Jarabo, los crímenes de un caballero español, on ElPais.com

[9] [9]
(in Spanish) Garrote vil para la envenenadora, on ElPais.com

[10] [10]
(in Spanish) Puig Antich, caso reabierto, on ElPais.com

[11] [11]
(in Spanish) C. Pomares Ramón, J. Vadillo García (2012); La policía local como policía judicial, p. 169

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

General Police Corps

Wikiwand in your browser!

History

Organic structure and functions

Rank insignia

Emblems

See also

References